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Rated: R
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, et al.
Director: Sam Mendes Review
From its first gliding aerial shot of a generic suburban street, American
Beauty moves with a mesmerizing confidence and acuity epitomized by Kevin
Spacey's calm narration. Spacey is Lester Burnham, a harried Everyman
whose midlife awakening is the spine of the story, and his very first
lines hook us with their teasing fatalism--like Sunset Boulevard's Joe
Gillis, Burnham tells us his story from beyond the grave.
It's an audacious start for a film that justifies that audacity. Weaving
social satire, domestic tragedy, and whodunit into a single package, Alan
Ball's first theatrical script dares to blur generic lines and keep us off
balance, winking seamlessly from dark, scabrous comedy to deeply moving
drama. The Burnham family joins the cinematic short list of great
dysfunctional American families, as Lester is pitted against his manic,
materialistic realtor wife, Carolyn (Annette Bening, making the most of a
mostly unsympathetic role) and his sullen, contemptuous teenaged daughter,
Jane (Thora Birch, utterly convincing in her edgy balance of
self-absorption and wistful longing). Into their lives come two catalytic
outsiders. A young cheerleader (Mena Suvari) jolts Lester into a sexual
epiphany that blooms into a second adolescence. And an eerily calm young
neighbor (Wes Bentley) transforms both Lester and Jane with his canny
influence. Credit another big-screen newcomer, English
theatrical director Sam Mendes, with expertly juggling these potentially
disjunctive elements into a superb ensemble piece that achieves a stylized
pace without lapsing into transparent self-indulgence. Mendes has shrewdly
insured his success with a solid crew of stage veterans, yet he's also
made an inspired discovery in Bentley, whose Ricky Fitts becomes a fulcrum
for both plot and theme. Cinematographer Conrad Hall's sumptuous visual
design further elevates the film, infusing the beige interiors of the
Burnhams' lives with vivid bursts of deep crimson, the color of roses--and
of blood. --Sam Sutherland
----------- American Beauty is Spacey at
his best...again, but wait, there's more. This time, a team of actors and
actresses that nearly show him up accompany Spacey. A true movie ensemble
including Annette Benning, Chris Cooper, Thora Birch, and Wes Bentley
threaten to steal the spotlight.
A seemingly typical suburban neighborhood gets an in-depth
look beneath the shallow surface. An ordinary, financially well-to-do
family is followed through the point of view of the father (extraordinary
Kevin Spacey). He narrates his life and fills the audience in on all of
his quirks, flaws, and limitations, as well as those of his wife (Annette
Benning), and daughter (Thora Birch). These introductory moments in which
Spacey reveals a side of his family that no one in the neighborhood dare
discover are executed with a touch of comical ingenuity. To glance beyond
this comical absurdity exposes a miserable, dysfunctional, household with
no escape from their perpetual sorrows. When the movie is seen through
this perspective, it loses its humor, but picks up a deeper, more real
meaning. This double angle that persists throughout the movie is one of
the elements that make this movie so brilliantly interesting. To reassess
the movie allows the deeper, more serious meaning to become more
prominent, but while watching in the moment, laughter is most likely to be
the initial overwhelming response. The movie is incredibly unique in its
entire concept. It is so clever, serious, and funny all in one. No other
movie has risked implementing such an unlikely combination. The result is
absolute, inarguable success. American Beauty deals with
the true nature of life, attempting to enlighten its viewers, by doing so
in a charming, eloquent manner, as opposed to shoving it down our throats.
'What is beauty?' is the question that this movie raises. Is it found in a
nice looking house, a good-natured person, a flower, a gorgeous woman, or
is it more abstract than that? What if beauty was found in exceptional
circumstances that cannot be reasonably accounted for, or what if it were
merely in understanding? All of these ideas are aroused; none are
straightforwardly answered, though one theory that seems to come across
clearly is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Every
moment of every scene enacted in American Beauty is done with such
precision and vitality, that they all become memorable without exception.
The characters are all well developed. More interestingly, each character
is severely flawed, some more than others, but each is forced to account
for these flaws. The character of Kevin Spacey, Lester Burnham is one of
great complexity, as are most in the movie. Lester has just decided that
he would like to do more with his pathetic life than laze around and
remain to be pathetic for eternity. He revives a suppressed, vivacious
identity that he soon embraces. With this new livelihood, comes a price.
His wife and daughter who have grown exceedingly distant through the years
are not ready to take on a whole new Lester Burnham.
To say that American Beauty exhibited superb acting
throughout would be a major understatement. Kevin Spacey was utterly
astonishing in his ability to convey the character of Lester Burnham.
Annette Benning as Lester's wife, Carolyn Burnham was as she has never
been seen before. In comparison to her flaky, overdone role in The Siege,
she seemed to have undergone some sort of miraculous endowment of acting
skill, as well as passion for her part. She worked beautifully with
Spacey, as did the daughter, Thora Birch, and the rest of the crew. No one
was really better than anyone else because each actor played his role with
such grace and dignity that none can be considered second-rate. The rest
of the credit is awarded to first-time feature film director Sam Mendes
who envisioned the entire film. It was he who set the mood, worked on the
unique camera angles, informed all of the actors of how there characters
were to be projected, and it was he who incorporated all of the minute
fine points into a giant masterpiece. No complaints can be
made of the unblemished American Beauty. It deserves Oscar attention to
the highest degree.
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