Christian Critic's Movie Parables - http://www.christiancritic.com
AMERICAN BEAUTY * * out of * * * * ===================
DIRECTED BY: Sam Mendes
STARRING: Kevin Spacey, Annette Benning, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley,
Chris Cooper, Mena Suvari
WRITTEN BY: Alan Ball
RATED: R for strong sexuality, nudity, language, violence, and
drug content.
SCRIPTURE
REFERENCES: Revelation 18:2-3, 1 Timothy 4:1, Ephesians 2:2-3
"For pseudo-intellectual psycho-babble, it was very well acted." So decreed my wife as we were leaving a screening of Dreamworks' AMERICAN BEAUTY. It remains an insightful summation.
Kevin Spacey (HURLYBURLY) stars as Lester Burnham, a self-described "ordinary guy with nothing to lose." Trapped in a soul-sucking job and a loveless marriage, he has already lost whatever verve or passion for life that he once had. His wife, Carolyn, (Annette Benning, IN DREAMS) is cold and self-absorbed. His daughter, Jane, (Thora Birch, ALASKA) is sullen and distant. These characters may live in the same house, but they are all very much alone.
Lester's catalyst for change comes in the guise of one of Jane's friends, a teen aged Lolita named Angela Hayes (Mena Suvari, AMERICAN PIE). Lester becomes fixated upon her, making her the object of his fantasies. It isn't long before Lester is "reborn." Tired of the life he has, he tries to recapture the life he lost. He starts smoking marijuana, pumping iron, and (most importantly) speaking his mind without care or consideration as to the impact his words might have.
Meanwhile, Carolyn, a materialistic Martha Stewart wannabe, is solely focused upon her career as a Realtor. Her obsession for success makes her blind to the miserable life she is helping to make for her husband and child. Her mantra becomes: "In order to be successful, one must project an image of success at all times." She concentrates so much on the image, she loses sight of the reality.
An opposing view is represented in the Burnham's next door neighbor, Ricky Fitts (Wes Bentley, BELOVED), an odd but amazingly self-assured teen aged drug dealer, who begins to take a romantic interest in Jane. He looks for the beauty that lies behind every image presented to us. It is why he bypasses the beautiful but shallow Angela for Jane in whom he sees the hidden beauty of her soul.
Ricky uses videotapes to help remember the ever present beauty he claims lies behind all of life's images. Inviting Jane to see the most beautiful thing he has ever videotaped, he shows her the image of a plastic bag hypnotically swirling in the wind. Of all the characters in the film, Ricky is presented as the one who is the most emotionally secure, although he is not without his own deep psychological scars.
There isn't a weak actor in the cast. Both Kevin Spacey and Annette Benning are magnificent in their roles. I am pleased to say that the hype surrounding their performances has not been exaggerated. Thora Birch, Mena Suvari, Wes Bentley and Chris Cooper (OCTOBER SKY) as Ricky's rigid, military-minded father all provide ample support.
Where the movie did not live up to the hype, in my estimation, is in the subject matter itself. The story it tells is neither original nor classic. It is a rather depressing comedy concerning pathetic individuals trying to find meaning or substance in the lives they lead. Sadly, they begin looking in all the wrong places. There is nothing beautiful in this AMERICAN BEAUTY.
While it is true that there is a hidden quality behind all of life's images or experiences, it is not necessarily beautiful. What it is, is spirit. Spirit, of course, comes in two forms: godly and ungodly. In observing the actions, habits, and desires of the on screen characters, it becomes clear that the spiritual influences which motivate them are devilish ones.
On the ride home from the theater, my wife and I were able to catalogue sixteen distinctly different devil spirits who would have been involved in the influencing of these characters' decisions. Among them: a spirit of envy, a sullen spirit, a spirit of error, a spirit of depression, a spirit of obsession, a sensual spirit, and a spirit of murder.
To the uninstructed, the above may seem foolish and unbelievable. But these devil spirits and others can be biblically documented and categorized by any who would take the time and effort to study the Scriptures. With a working knowledge of the invisible influence of the devil spirit realm, AMERICAN BEAUTY makes dark but perfect sense. Without it, it remains not much more than a well-acted piece of "pseudo-intellectual psycho-babble."
Michael Elliott September 1999 http://www.christiancritic.com
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