American Beauty - Movie Review

American Beauty
Review by Lucille Laydon

Director Sam Mendes’ American Beauty is an iconic work of art, which is perhaps controversial with its humorous yet bitter representation of America’s national ethos, the American Dream.

Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) is the fundamental character to the plot; we are immediately exposed to the center of his world with a bird’s eye view shot of his ‘perfect’ suburban neighborhood but of course if you ‘look closer’ this is just a façade Lester is ‘dead already’. Lester is in the midst of a mid-life crisis, as the film unravels he develops a taste for teenage skin as he becomes infatuated with his daughters delectable friend Angela Hayes (Mena Suvari), he revisits his youth by taking up cannabis again with his peculiar teenage neighbor Ricky Fits (Wes Bentley), he quits his highly-paid job and trades it in for flipping burgers. Throughout the film Spacey exhibits a rare wit and seriousness with Lester’s weary frowns and cutting smirks this exceptional performance from Spacey is I am sure a relatable one too many men.

Carolyn Burnham (Annette Bening), Lester’s wife is trapped in the ideology of the American Dream, she is a state agent and psychotic mother so emotionally frayed she's become a caricature of her previous self, slapping herself silly in one scene when she’s unable to sell a house. Bening plays the role flawlessly; she reeks of desperation and repression waiting to burst.

 Jane Burnham (Thora Birch) is an insecure, irritable teenager who along with her mother barely tries to hide her contempt for her father, she is repulsed and embarrassed by her father’s obvious lustful desires towards her friend Angela Hayes, although in some ways she envies the attention her father gives Angela. Jane and her neighbor Ricky Fitts get their own B-plot as they cultivate a relationship for one another as the film goes on. Birch is the weakest of the cast her acting is often wooden at times even for the role of a monosyllabic teenager…

The Fitts family is immaculately casted; the entire concept of this family gives a whole other dynamic to the plot. Ricky Fitts the camera obsessed, neighborhood drug dealer is calculating, organized and emotionally economical. He compliments the astonishing performances of his parent’s ex-military man Col. Frank Fitts (Chris Cooper) and the introverted homemaker Barbra Fitts (Allison Janey). Col.Frank Fitts is a Nazi-loving, homophobe, and an ex military man who believes in extreme forms of discipline. Frank has stunned his wife Barbra Fitts into submission after years of a bullet-fire marriage. We ultimately learn that he is a closet homosexual who is repressing his homoerotic desires. Cooper plays this role with precision you really do believe he is the heartless cold colonel he plays.

It is appropriate that a movie that puts so much emphasis on recognizing beauty is itself visually beautiful. The cinematography of the film is undeniably what makes the film so unique; cinematographer Conrad Hall is able to convey the mood of the film with just the red colour alone. The beautiful camera angles, vibrant colour and mysterious lighting are used as a tool to craft the storyline in an extraordinary way.

Thomas Newman’s soundtrack for the film is what gives the film such life, the soundtrack tells the story in some ways more than then dialogue does. Newman’s music is hauntingly beautiful it coincides perfectly with each scene and each shot, it is the godfather of film soundtracks and I am sure will be timeless.

The script is the only aspect to American Beauty where I can find fault, Lester and Ricky’s monologues on beauty are slightly pretentious and unpalatable at times, it’s hard to believe a 17-year old boy could be so awfully profound but the cleverness and acid wit of the rest the script makes this easy to overlook. Alan Ball is able to maintain continuous humour and memorable lines throughout the film.

American beauty is a wonderful betrayal of the American Dream turned sour the film illustrates the   empty promises of materialism in one American suburban neighbourhood with an exceptional cast, a captivating storyline, beautiful cinematography and a phenomenal soundtrack making the film an iconic work of art. Several films have tried to get at this idea, with varying results, but none have been half as entertaining and satisfying as American Beauty. This is a stunning film, a rare occasion when direction, writing and acting, are able to blend to create a masterpiece.