American Beauty (A or 4/4 stars)
Lester & Carolyn Burnham (Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening) are a seemingly perfect husband & wife, living in a perfect house, in a perfect neighborhood, in 'American Beauty' a dark comedy directed by Sam Mendes. This is them on the outside, but it's a very different story inside the 4 walls of their house. Lester is falling into a deep depression. He can't stand Carolyn. He can't connect with his teen daughter, Jane (Thora Birch). And he finally snaps after becoming infatuated with his daughter's attractive friend, Angela (Mena Suvari). This film is a masterpiece. Layered with symbolism, & rich with entrancing performances, this tale of unfulfilled desires, repression, & shattered hopes is truly hypnotizing. This is, in my opinion, one of the very best films of the 1990's.
16 yr. old Jane thinks her parents are strange; most teens do. Her dad, Lester, is definitely going through a mid-life crisis; a sedation. Only 42 yrs. old, he's already become almost unshakably cynical of the world around him. Meanwhile, Carolyn, a real estate agent, has turned into one of those hairsprayed, red fingernailed, suit-wearing, high-heeled, unfeeling, materialistic bitches who prunes her hedges every day & casts judgmental eyes on anyone who is not of the same social status. She even turns down Lester's infrequent proposals for sex. They continue their charade of a marriage for Jane's sake (and to show the outside world that they're 'normal'). Problem is, Jane hates them; and would probably prefer that they get divorced. As a distraction, she develops a strange friendship with a shy next door neighbor, Ricky (Wes Bentley), whose father (Chris Cooper) is quite the homophobe. Tensions escalate. And tragedy strikes both families.
Each of the 3 main characters experience a sort of 'awakening'. Lester speads his wings; first, by quitting his menial job. Yes he'll have no income; and he has his daughter's eventual college fees to deal with. But he just doesn't care; at least for the time being. It is a liberation; and that's all that matters. His 2nd awakening comes by way of his daughter's friend, Angela. The attention she gives him arouses his libido. And he descends into an immoral obsession with the girl. It's an odd & unsettling subplot; but a fascinating one. Carolyn's awakening comes in the form of Buddy Kane (Peter Gallagher); a rival real estate agent whom she begins an exhilarating affair with. This gives her the freedom to let her hair down, and really tell-off Lester; whereas she'd always keep her thoughts of him to herself.
Poor Jane is really caught in the middle. She can't stand her parents. She hates school; has very few friends. She hates her appearance (I don't know why). She wants a new pair of boobs (hers are absolutely fine to begin with, trust me). And she hates that her slutty friend is making passes at her father. Jane's awakening comes in the form of Ricky; the strange neighbor who views his life through a video camera (she allows him to tape her undressing as he records from his bedroom window). Ricky doesn't have it easy, either. His mom (superb Allison Janney) is in a virtual catatonic state. And his dad, an ex-Marine neo-Nazi, runs his household like a dictator. Whoever said that the suburban American Dream (picket fence, white house, nuclear family) was 'ideal' ... was dead wrong. The desire to appear 'peachy keen' becomes too much for these characters; leading to self-destruction and/or complete freedom from their stifling, dysfunctional lives.
This all sounds quite miserable, doesn't it? But I promise you that this film works, not only an incredibly astute dark comedy, but also as a meditation on life. Even though disaster strikes no less than 2 characters, the catalysts that break each & every one of them out of their suburban funk prove to be quite positive, on the whole. Each character lacks passion in their soulless lives (one form of it or another). One of the greatest aspects of the film is its sporadic, but symbolic use of the color red. The 'red' being that small shred of passion that's buried deep in these people's beige existences.
Kevin Spacey is phenomenal, here. Every line he delivers, facial expression, vocal inflection, every nuance, is just executed to perfection. We know the Lester Burnham's of this world, and Spacey embodies it perfectly. Annette Bening is captivating, as well. She's repressed, matronly, but then sensual, & explosive – hers is my favorite lead female performance of the year. Thora Birch gives great depth to the already complex teen daughter character. Also stunning is Chris Cooper, lending an unsettling, uneasy performance as the next door neighbor from Hell. 'American Beauty' gets under your skin in the way only the very best films can. It becomes richer & richer after multiple viewings. And I doubt a better film will come out this year; brilliant on so many levels.
16 yr. old Jane thinks her parents are strange; most teens do. Her dad, Lester, is definitely going through a mid-life crisis; a sedation. Only 42 yrs. old, he's already become almost unshakably cynical of the world around him. Meanwhile, Carolyn, a real estate agent, has turned into one of those hairsprayed, red fingernailed, suit-wearing, high-heeled, unfeeling, materialistic bitches who prunes her hedges every day & casts judgmental eyes on anyone who is not of the same social status. She even turns down Lester's infrequent proposals for sex. They continue their charade of a marriage for Jane's sake (and to show the outside world that they're 'normal'). Problem is, Jane hates them; and would probably prefer that they get divorced. As a distraction, she develops a strange friendship with a shy next door neighbor, Ricky (Wes Bentley), whose father (Chris Cooper) is quite the homophobe. Tensions escalate. And tragedy strikes both families.
Each of the 3 main characters experience a sort of 'awakening'. Lester speads his wings; first, by quitting his menial job. Yes he'll have no income; and he has his daughter's eventual college fees to deal with. But he just doesn't care; at least for the time being. It is a liberation; and that's all that matters. His 2nd awakening comes by way of his daughter's friend, Angela. The attention she gives him arouses his libido. And he descends into an immoral obsession with the girl. It's an odd & unsettling subplot; but a fascinating one. Carolyn's awakening comes in the form of Buddy Kane (Peter Gallagher); a rival real estate agent whom she begins an exhilarating affair with. This gives her the freedom to let her hair down, and really tell-off Lester; whereas she'd always keep her thoughts of him to herself.
Poor Jane is really caught in the middle. She can't stand her parents. She hates school; has very few friends. She hates her appearance (I don't know why). She wants a new pair of boobs (hers are absolutely fine to begin with, trust me). And she hates that her slutty friend is making passes at her father. Jane's awakening comes in the form of Ricky; the strange neighbor who views his life through a video camera (she allows him to tape her undressing as he records from his bedroom window). Ricky doesn't have it easy, either. His mom (superb Allison Janney) is in a virtual catatonic state. And his dad, an ex-Marine neo-Nazi, runs his household like a dictator. Whoever said that the suburban American Dream (picket fence, white house, nuclear family) was 'ideal' ... was dead wrong. The desire to appear 'peachy keen' becomes too much for these characters; leading to self-destruction and/or complete freedom from their stifling, dysfunctional lives.
This all sounds quite miserable, doesn't it? But I promise you that this film works, not only an incredibly astute dark comedy, but also as a meditation on life. Even though disaster strikes no less than 2 characters, the catalysts that break each & every one of them out of their suburban funk prove to be quite positive, on the whole. Each character lacks passion in their soulless lives (one form of it or another). One of the greatest aspects of the film is its sporadic, but symbolic use of the color red. The 'red' being that small shred of passion that's buried deep in these people's beige existences.
Kevin Spacey is phenomenal, here. Every line he delivers, facial expression, vocal inflection, every nuance, is just executed to perfection. We know the Lester Burnham's of this world, and Spacey embodies it perfectly. Annette Bening is captivating, as well. She's repressed, matronly, but then sensual, & explosive – hers is my favorite lead female performance of the year. Thora Birch gives great depth to the already complex teen daughter character. Also stunning is Chris Cooper, lending an unsettling, uneasy performance as the next door neighbor from Hell. 'American Beauty' gets under your skin in the way only the very best films can. It becomes richer & richer after multiple viewings. And I doubt a better film will come out this year; brilliant on so many levels.