Director: Sam Mendes
Stars: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening and Thora Birch
Summary:
American Beauty records a suburban father, Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) during his mid-life crisis. On the outside, his family is made up of the typical American dream. That is, a perfect house, husband, wife, child and car. However, Lesters' family consists of a bitchy wife, Carolyn (Annette Bening) and a daughter who hates him, Jane (Thora Birch). After attending a cheer leading competition at Jane's high school, he meets Jane's friend Angela, who causes him to develop a sexual infatuation for and acts as a catalyst for his freedom from years of falling into a depression. The film is a dark comedic drama that threads together emotional conflicts regarding each member of the Burnham family and misunderstandings that lead to the discovery of oneself.
My Review:
Although the film can be seen as a comedy, I found that it could also been seen as a tragedy because of the subsidiarity of Lester's identity. The film was not a typical comedy that can be taken lightly. American Beauty uncovers the reality of the so-called 'American Dream' that is is not all happiness but superficiality that may be inhuman for societies standards. It highlights the way society can change a person to the point that they may not be themselves or feel happy even when they are successful in ticking the boxes of societies expectations. I loved the performances of the actors and how well they played their characters making the scenes so believable and a joy to watch. Mendes directs a deeply disturbing, yet humorous and highly sophisticated film that I would recommend to anyone that enjoys cutting edge and entertainingly intelligent movies.
My Rating: 9/10
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