American Beauty is a film about suburban despair dressed as satire. Sam Mendes directs, and it won Best Picture at the Oscars. It is a quiet, sad, often funny movie about a man who has stopped caring about anything.
Trailer, via YouTube Movies.
Lester Burnham and His Decline
Kevin Spacey plays Lester Burnham, a man trapped in a marriage to a woman he barely knows. He sells real estate, hates his job, and watches his daughter’s cheerleader friends through binoculars. The film follows him as he loses weight, buys a car he cannot afford, and starts a romance with a neighbor half his age.
Spacey carries the picture. His Lester is not a hero, but he is the only character who seems alive. The film’s other characters exist mostly to reflect his decline. His wife Carolyn, played by Annette Bening, is a cold woman who loves her job and hates her husband. Their daughter Jane, played by Thora Birch, is a lonely teenager who sleeps with Lester’s best friend. None of them find peace until Lester stops trying to please everyone else.
The Look of American Beauty
The cinematography is the film’s second great strength. It is shot with a shallow depth of field, making every face look soft and slightly out of focus. The color palette is bright, almost artificial, which makes the scenes feel both staged and real at once. The film also uses a recurring image of a plastic bag dancing in the wind. It is a small detail, but it becomes a symbol for freedom and escape.
American Beauty does not pretend to offer answers. It is a portrait of a man who has given up on life and finds a moment of happiness in the smallest things. The ending is ambiguous, but it feels earned. The film does not resolve anything, and that refusal is part of what makes it work.
The performances are strong across the board:
- Kevin Spacey gives a career-best performance as Lester.
- Annette Bening is chilling as Carolyn.
- Thora Birch is heartbreaking as Jane.
- M. Emmet Walsh plays Lester’s boss with a terrifying intensity.
Where the Film Stumbles
The film is not perfect. Its satire can be heavy-handed, and some of the jokes land flat. The subplot involving Jane’s boyfriend is a bit forced, and the ending with Lester’s death feels rushed. These are minor complaints, but they keep the film from greatness.
Here is how the film’s flaws rank by severity:
- The satire is too heavy-handed in spots.
- The subplot with Jane’s boyfriend feels forced.
- The ending rushes Lester’s death.
These are small issues in a film of this caliber, but they are worth noting.
Still, American Beauty remains a sharp, sad look at middle-class America. It is a film about loneliness and the small moments of joy that make life worth living. It is a film about a man who finally looks at his life and decides to live it.
