Nite-Out

American Beauty

Director: Sam Mendes
Screenplay: Alan Ball
Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Mena Suvari, Chris Cooper, Allison Janney, Wes Bentley

In the letters page of a regional Ohio newspaper, “disgusted” wrote that she had been to see American Beauty and left after the first 20 minutes, offended and displeased by this amoral offering. And that's a pity, because if she'd watched the whole film she might have discovered something totally different.

Without doubt, the first 20 minutes of the film introduces the viewer to the key characters, all of whom are at best flawed, at worst simply detestable. The most sympathetic character is Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) and even then it's maybe only the middle-aged men who are watching who can appreciate his situation. At 42, Lester is having his mid-life crisis, the answer to which seems to be to start working out, buy a Pontiac Firebird and make a play for his daughter's best friend, Angela Hayes (Mena Suvari).

Lester's wife, Carolyn (Annette Bening) is a career-focused Real Estate agent and his daughter Jane (Thora Birch) is a cynical, nihilistic teenager who has nothing but contempt for her parents. Angela is a self-centered aspiring model whose life consists of trying to look as good as possible and regaling Jane with tales of her sexual exploits.

In a twist that must be intentional, the most instantly inoffensive and “likable” characters are a gay couple who live next to the Burnhams. On the other side live the Fitts. Colonel Fitts (Chris Cooper) is an ex-army bigot who beats his son Ricky (Wes Bentley) and totally dominates his puppet-like wife Barbara (Allison Janney).

As the films progresses, we are shown the gradual disintegration of the Burnhams and the Fitts. As Lester tries to seduce Angela, Carolyn has a relationship with another Real Estate agent called The King (Peter Gallagher). Colonel Fitts begins to suspect Ricky of being a homosexual prostitute, and Ricky spends most of his life armed with a video camera, taking shots of what he considers beautiful - and that includes young Jane.

Yet underlying the whole film is a simple message; we all need somebody to love. In some way or another, all the characters are searching for love whilst at the same time being amidst it. They are all suffering from a form of blindness, which is failing to see the beauty in the mundane. Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi comes to mind - “Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till it's gone.” As does the phrase, “You can't see the wood for the trees.”

The film also explores the notion of desire and how misguided it can be. As the story develops, we see what it is that each person thinks they want in order to be whole; Lester wants Angela; Carolyn wants The King; Jane wants breast implants; Angela wants to be a supermodel. Yet what they want is not necessarily what they need. And that;s one of the lessons of the movie.

It is a darkly comic film, although not comic in the sense of huge belly-laughs and American Pie humor. It is more of a tragic comedy, not to be taken seriously. The characters are extremely well-played, so much so that flawed as they all are, you want to know more about and watch them. There's a wonderful moment at the beginning where Jane discovers her neighbor Ricky filming her. At that point, the viewer understands her pegging him as a voyeur, and we see it through his camera lens. But then you realize that we are all voyeurs, watching people through a filmmakers lens and getting some satisfaction from it. Ricky's camera-habit becomes less voyeuristic as the movie progresses and we learn that he is simply looking for beauty.

Yet for its apparent destructive vision of American family life, at the end, you can come away feeling good. Maybe that's because you realize that your own life is NOT like that and that things are not that bad. And if you realize that there are good things going on for you, then you've discovered exactly what the film wants you to: American Beauty.

Prospero's Cell gives this film a big hug and recommends it to anyone who loves movies and doesn't mind thinking just a little. If you leave before the end, you miss the point.

Recommended Sites

• Cleveland Area Resources
• Pittsburgh Information
• Ticketmaster Who's On and What's On