American
Beauty
Directed
by Sam Mendes
Written
by Alan Ball
Starring
Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, Mena Suvari, Peter
Gallagher, and Chris Cooper
121
minutes. Rated R. Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1. 1999
I'm a lucky guy.
Why,
you ask? It's because I can go to a film and look at it objectively. If
it's based on a novel I like, I won't be comparing it to the book in my
head as I'm watching; if it's got an actor or a director that I like or
dislike, it's not going to make me prejudiced about the film one way or
the other; and if the film has received a lot of hype, I'm not going to
be affected by it.
Most people aren't so lucky, however, and for them, hype will ruin a film.
"The Blair Witch Project wasn't nearly as scary as everyone said."
Of course not. You'd have to actually be in the woods, being stalked
by a witch to be as scared as everyone says you should be! "The ending
of The Sixth Sense wasn't as shocking as everyone said it would
be." No, for that, Bruce Willis would had to have leapt out of the movie
screen, landed in your lap, and given you a big wet kiss.
"American
Beauty wasn't as good as everyone said it was."
I disagree.
As a
filmmaker myself, I can only hope that one day I will make a film that
is half as well-written, perfectly shot, wonderfully acted, and
just brilliantly made as American Beauty is. The film is pure poetry
-- not some awkward Pablo Neruda shit that sounds like some horny high
school sophomore's attempt to be eloquent, but the kind of poetry that
you close your eyes when you listen to it and you just let it wash over
you, like a warm wave. In one of my favorite scenes, one character says
"Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I can't take it. Like my
heart's going to cave in." That's exactly how this film makes me feel.
It envelops you, pulls you in, so you can't possibly escape, even if you
wanted to. It's completely and utterly captivating, and one of the most
beautiful films I've seen in a long time.
The writing
is superb. Alan Ball turns in a wonderful script, both funny and poignant,
with real characters and impossibly heartwrenching and hilarious situations.
Just like life. Is American Beauty a comedy or a drama? That's like
saying "is my life a comedy or a drama?" You can't answer that, and Ball's
script is one of the reasons. It speaks to your soul.
The acting is also top-notch. We have an incredible cast here that works
together to bring us the most impressive collection of performances in
a single film I've seen in a long time. Kevin Spacey (Glengarry Glen
Ross, The Negotiator, LA Confidential, and Academy Award Winner for
The
Usual Suspects) give his best performance yet as Lester Burnham, the
guy who, at the beginning of the film, considers masturbating in the shower
to be the high point of his day. That's before he meets Angela (American
Pie's Mena Suvari), a friend of his daughter Jane (Thora Birch, who
you might recognize as Jack Ryan's daughter in Patriot Games and
Clear
and Present Danger) who he immediately wants to sleep with. He begins
having bizarre 
rose-themed
fantasies (that look incredible on the big-screen, especially when
Suvari opens her shirt and rose petals come pouring out) and he begins
attempting to figure out a way to bed this beautiful teenager. Annette
Bening (The Siege, Richard III, Bugsy, The Grifters) plays Lester's
wife, a frustrated, obsessively superficial woman on the verge of a nervous
breakdown. Bening gives a terrific performance that adds another surreal
layer to this already somewhat surreal film, but one that ultimately brings
poignancy and emotional power to the picture.
The directing
is flawless. This is what they're talking about when, on the back
of widescreen videotapes, it talks about "preserving 
the
artistic integrity of the filmmakers." Every -- and I mean every
-- 2.35:1 shot is perfectly composed. Does that make the visuals flat and
uninteresting? Only if you're dead -- the visuals in this film are stunning.
My favorite scene, the one I mentioned earlier, is a couple watching a
video of a plastic bag being tossed about by the wind. The visual poetry
in that scene makes my heart ache. When you add the terribly sad and heartfelt
score by Thomas Newman (who did the equally wonderful scores for Meet
Joe Black, Red Corner, the wonderful The Shawshank Redemption,
and the forthcoming The Green Mile, along with countless others),
its a scene -- and a film -- that makes you feel like your heart's going
to cave in.
This
film could easily storm the Academy Awards. Gold statues for best score,
best cinematography, best writing, best acting, best directing, and best
picture could all easily be in American Beauty's future.
What
is an "American beauty"? My mom says it's a rose. I say it's this film.
I'm a
lucky guy. Why, you ask?
I saw
American
Beauty.
Bottom line: A beautiful work of art that may very well be the main show
at the Oscars this year.
My grade:
A+
My advice:
See it in the theatre, as so to do the wonderful visuals justice as as
so not to lose half of the screen to "pan and scan". This film will
be ruined if not seen in it's widescreen splendor.
Get the movie
poster!
