Recommendation: 5/5 Stars
The Cinephile’s Journey is an attempt to watch and review every film that has won The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Oscar for Best Picture.
Plot: “A sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter’s best friend.” -IMDB
Review: Behind the walls of American suburban homes, there are a million stories waiting to be told. American Beauty tells the story of one frustrated family. The Burnhams are an encapsulation of the typical American family. In immeasurable ways, they are as ordinary as the manicured lawns, tree-lined streets, and cookie cutter homes that define the neighborhood they call home. If you draw the curtains slightly, you discover no one is happy. This deeply observational film serves as a vehicle meant to expose the truth.
At the heart of this film, in my estimation, is a character analysis of six people. Each intersects with the lives of the other five in fascinating ways. This intersection stretches beyond the familial and neighborly bonds that hold them together. For this review, I think it is necessary to spend a few moments considering each of them.
Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) is a sexually frustrated man in a loveless marriage who stands on the edge of a mid-life crisis. The push he needs to fall face first off the cliff is his daughter’s friend, a girl who he has a deeply disturbing sexual attraction to throughout the film. It is this push that changes the dynamics of their family and pushes everyone toward freedom.
Carolyn Burnham (Annette Bening) is Lester’s wife. She is also sexually frustrated. She finds release in her work, an orderly home built to maintain appearances, and the idea of a meaningful relationship with her daughter.
Jane Burnham (Thora Birch) is the daughter of Lester and Carolyn. In countless ways, she is a typical teenager. She is unsure of herself as she stands in the shadow of a friend who is almost her polar opposite. Like many teenagers, she rejects her parents as she charts her own path. Their toxicity toward each other only stiffens her resolve and quickens her need for independence.
Ricky Fitts (Wes Bentley) is the mysterious boy next door. He constantly has a video camera in his hand. This tool captures beauty in the world-beauty that is missing from within the walls of his suburban home. Surer of himself than Jane, she finds herself mysteriously drawn to him.
Angela Hayes (Mena Suvari) is Jane’s friend and the girl at the center of Lester’s fantasies. Angela dreams of escaping the suburbs for the city to become a model. While this dream might be a delusion of grandeur, it does not stop her from constructing a world where it is held as truth by everyone around her.
Colonel Fitts (Chris Cooper) is Ricky’s father. The colonel possesses deeply held views on the world and forces everyone around him to bend toward those beliefs. He and Ricky have a past that has morphed into present day mistrust. He also possesses a secret that changes everything in this film.
As Lester finds his confidence, the other members of his family follow suit. As he pushes the domino over, their home becomes a supernova on the verge of explosion. To watch this film is to watch a star collapsing in on itself. For a moment, everyone will get a taste of happiness, but nothing lasts. Without a doubt, the ending of this film is still one of the most shocking I have ever witnessed.
This film has profound things to say about happiness, relationships, parenting, appearances, inner truth, and escape. It poses questions that left me debating friends in my living room the first time I saw it. It must have led to countless parking lot debates when it was originally released in theaters. American Beauty was a mirror held up to the 90s and the perfect film to close out a decade where everything was being redefined.
Be good to each other,
Nathan
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