American Beauty

American Beauty; drama, USA, 1999; D: Sam Mendes, S: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, Mena Suvari, Chris Cooper, Peter Gallagher
Lester Burnham is a 42-year old advertising executive who is entering midlife crisis and hates his average job. He is also a depressive husband who is neither loved by his wife Carolyn nor by his bitter teenage daughter Jane. One day he meets Jane's friend, the high school cheerleader Angela, and falls in love with her. He changes, quits his job and starts consuming marijuana bought from his neighbor Ricky, a teenager who starts a relationship with Jane. Carolyn at the same time starts an affair with a wealthy real estate seller, Buddy, while Ricky's military father Frank Fitts kisses Lester, revealing himself to be gay. As Lester finds out Angela is still a virgin, he decides to give up on her. Lester is shot and killed by Frank, which ends Lester's contemplation about his life.

"American Beauty" is a bitter story about what happens when people are not happy with their lives and suppress their feelings. It is a truly perfect example of a bipolar movie in which humor and sharp dialogues create laughter and pleasure on one side of the brain—in the opening shots the main hero is narrating: "My name is Lester Burnham. I'm 42 years old. In a year I'll be dead. Of course, I still don't know that yet", while he is shown waking up in his bed, obviously paying a homage to Wilder's "Sunset Boulevard"—while the exaggerated and not so subtle dramatic elements create tragedy on the other half. Yet, at the same time, it seems as if the film starts out as a gentle, clever and thoughtful story only to transform into a tedious melodrama filled with senseless subplots (for example, Frank's sudden gay side) and pretentious elements (a plastic bag carried by the breeze is not beauty—it is enviromental pollution) that seem to come from some sort of a soap opera. In the story, Lester quits his job because he is not happy with it. An interesting, easy to relate idea. But then he decides to work—at a hamburger shop? Is that his dream job? Isn't it actually a step back, career-wise? One would assume that Lester quit his job in order to pursue what he really wanted in life, but, conversely, he has no clue what he wants to do with himself.

Compared to better existential films about depressed protagonists, like Kiarostami's beautifully calm and wise drama "Taste of Cherry", "American Beauty" does not seem mature enough for its skewed themes. Alan Ball's screenplay is sharp, and shows a genuine 6th sense for some inspired dialogues (in one instance, Angela is teasing Jane, who is staring at Ricky, saying that Jane wants to have "10,000 of his babies"; in another, at a party, when Lester points out to Buddy that they already met, and Buddy cannot remember, Lester adds: "It's OK, I wouldn't remember me either"). Thora Birch is excellent in the role of a disillusioned teenager who is actually in fear of her future grown up life. But the uneven result is there because the execution of the idea by director Sam Mendes is problematic and flawed, equipped with awful music and video spot style, whereas the characters of Carolyn and Frank are stereotypes. The bizarre ending is especially problematic: the murder comes out of nowhere and feels shoehorned, giving room to a confusingly metaphysical departure. Likewise, some moments just scream of a "deleted scene" (as it was not obvious already that the militaristic Frank is the bad guy, there is an unnecessary scene where it is revealed he has plates with a swastika on them, which is banal). It seems the story would have been much better if it was just revolving around Lester and Angela alone. In the end, "American Beauty" is a good film, but it is a clever story just not done in a harmonious way, and these aberrations sadly contaminate it.

Grade:++