Rating: ***1/2 (out of 4)Cast: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Chris Cooper
Director: Sam Mendez
Year of Release: 1999
To most of us, there will come a time when you become disillusioned with your repetitive life existence. It wouldn't help when people around you, and society at large, constantly putting pressure on what you should do, and what you shouldn't do. 'There are rules in life, you need to have structure and discipline!' said Colonel Fitts (Chris Cooper), while disciplining his son, Ricky.
Combined with insecurity over perception of lack of success, you are bound to yearn for flashes of freedom, to do what your heart tells you.
If you are in this situation, known as mid-life crisis, I supposed there are two ways you can respond to it. Either you just shrugged, and accept it as part of life, or you snap, and spiral down to self destructive rebellion.
Miles Davis (Paul Giamatti), the hero from Alexander Payne's comedy masterpiece 'Sideways', took the former approach, just as most of us will do in real life. Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey), took the latter approach.
The result is one of rebellious fantasy, an anti-conformation fable that starts off funnily, but by half way turns dark, and ended with a tragedy.
Lester impulsively quit his job, and took on a lowly paid job grilling burgers in a fast food joint. 'I am looking for a job with least amount of responsibility', he said, going head-on against his family's demand on him as a family bread winner. He began to work out, lifting weights, smoking pot and listening to Pink Floyd rock music that he once loved, to rediscover young adulthood. He even lust again his daughter's underage teenage friend, Angela (Mena Suvari).
Morally wrong? Lester wouldn't care. In his own words, 'This is the high point of my day'.
The ultimate freedom came at a price, as Lester shall learn, but we suspect it is all well worth it for Lester, trading brief, complete freedom for years of future repetitive existence, a life which he proclaimed as 'In a way, I'm dead already'.
Lester Burnham is a complex character to play, and Kevin Spacey carried it to perfection. Annette Bening's acting, as his wife Carolyn, is theatrical and farcical, perhaps intentionally so, as director Sam Mendez is a theater veteran. 'American Beauty' was his feature film debut, a fairy tale debut which won him 5 Oscars, including Best Picture.
Due to its fantasy nature, 'American Beauty' is not as emotionally moving as Alexander Payne's 'Sideways'. Nevertheless, it is on its own league, questioning the way we live our life, how rules and structures have made us forget about the joy of living the life. It's a pity, because, to quote from the film, 'There's so much beauty in life'.
* 'American Beauty' won 5 Oscars in the 2000 Academy Awards, for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. It was also nominated for Best Actress, Best Editing and Best Original Score
