DreamWorks Pictures, Rated R
Directed by Sam Mendes
Written by Alan Ball
It's wonderfully refreshing to see such captivating, intelligent filmmaking nowadays but here we have that exact thing with Sam Mendes' directorial debut American Beauty, which should definitely be nominated for every Best Picture award this year.
The film concerns the Burnham family, headed by Lester (Kevin Spacey), a man who boldly announces at the beginning of the film that he will be dead within a year. Lester is one of those work-a-day family men who hates their job, hates their family, hates their life. The same can be said for the other members of his family, Carolyn (Annette Bening) and Jane (Thora Birch). Carolyn is a struggling real-estate agent who is constantly upset that everything isn't as perfect as she wants it. Jane is a teenager who hates everyone and everything, especially her parents, whom she eventually wishes would be killed. Things change for all of them, especially for Lester, who is instantly attracted to one of Jane's friends (Mena Suvari), a fellow cheerleader at a high school basketball game. He is then totally driven (via rose-strewn-dreams, the rose is a definite theme here) to sleep with her through any way possible and gradually changes his life step by step to do so. He soon begins smoking pot with the strange boy next door (Wes Bentley) who has his eye on Jane. Then he quits his job and starts working at a fast food restaurant. Carolyn on the other hand begins a torrid affair with a well-known real estate competitor. Jane soon falls in love with Ricky, the neighbor who loves capturing beauty on videotape, as well.
The film is certainly beautiful, I've rarely seen such an expertly-lit film. Mendes, a Broadway veteran, can be thanked for that I suppose. Ball's script is fantastic and thought-provoking. Kevin Spacey is a shoo-in for an Oscar nod (this may be a better role than his roles in Seven and The Usual Suspects too) and if there is any flaw here, it may be Bening going a bit over-the-top on occasion. The young actors however are absolutely perfect. The film is very commendable for dealing with teenagers and adults on the same level and not dumbing down one generation under another. It's hard to think of many other films who have dealt with teenagers and adults this way, treating them both as complex human beings. Only the recent satire Election comes to mind. The two share a lot in common, though American Beauty is not quite as satirical. However, they do share this: they are the two best films of 1999 so far. ****
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