AMERICAN BEAUTY ***** (out of five stars) A review by Jamey Hughton
Starring-Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, Mena Suvari, Chris Cooper, Allison Janney and Peter Gallagher Director-Sam Mendes Rated 14A Dreamworks
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`Both my wife and daughter think I'm this gigantic loser' says Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey), a 42-year old husband and father who is experiencing a mid-life crisis. Lester and his wife Carolyn (Annette Bening) are living out a normal, everyday marriage merely to provide an adequate living environment for their teenage daughter, Jane (Thora Birch). The only reason Lester continues on with the pointless charade classified as `life' is his daily masturbating session in the shower. Everything is downhill from there.
American Beauty isn't so much the chronicle of Lester's downfall than it is the story of his rebirth. If you `look closer' beneath the glossy surface, as the film's trailer suggests, you will find a film stirring with truth and poignancy. Some will enjoy the film merely for it's dead-on portrayal of a present day nuclear family, played out in the fashion of a scathingly funny prime-time sitcom. Others will look beyond that and *experience* American Beauty, as it explores the human mind and ponders the ordinary existence that Lester forges ahead with every morning.
Director Sam Mendes has done something remarkable with his directorial debut. He has introduced us to three fully realized, richly detailed characters that everyone can relate to in one way or another. Mendes paints a beautiful picture around the Burnham family, and his delicate style is immersed in storytelling brilliance. I foolishly made the mistake of assuming American Beauty would simply revolve around Spacey's awkward breakdown. In actuality, the film delves much deeper into the nature of being human, and it delivers a relentlessly truthful and unexpectedly powerful fable of everyday suburbia.
Spacey's work here is beyond brilliant. His performance as Lester Burnham is sure to garner him an Oscar nomination, and for good reason. The actor has perfectly realized Lester's difficult situation, but he also respects the characters limitations like a genuine Hollywood craftsman. Scenes at the Burnham dinner table strike the perfect tone, as Lester (with the artificial smile of a caring father) desperately attempts to connect with his daughter using the obvious `How was your day at school, honey?' approach. It reeks of hopeless detachment, just as Lester's fruitless job as a tele-marketer, and essentially every minute of his pointless life.
When he and Carolyn attend a basketball game to view their daughter's cheerleading abilities, Lester finds a reason to continue living: a divinely attractive teenager named Angela (Mena Suvari). Despite the notable fact that she and Jane are close friends, Lester begins hopelessly lusting over the blond angel, experiencing surreal fantasies in which her naked body is delicately covered with fallen rose petals. He begins to lift weights and smoke pot on a regular basis, all with the single hope of sleeping with Angela when the time is right. As Lester puts it so very bluntly, `I'm just an ordinary guy with nothing to lose'. Truer words have never been spoken.
Annette Bening, so ultimately convincing in a heartbreaking performance, backs up Spacey with reliable persistence. Even as Lester loses his grip on modern society, the lives of Carolyn and Jane are spiraling out of control as well. Carolyn, unhappy with her job as a real estate agent, tries valiantly to be a loyal wife and caring mother. She finds her own escape when she christens a heated affair with a business competitor (Peter Gallagher), who calls himself `The King'. Jane, convinced she has no support from her parents, finds an unlikely curiosity in the weirdo next-door (Wes Bentley), who videotapes everything as if worried he may loose his grasp on reality. His father (Chris Cooper), an ex-marine and right-wing gay basher, makes him provide a urine sample every 6 months for drug testing. All of the characters in American Beauty have more to reveal than initially evident.
Rarely has a film struck me with it's audacious courage the way American Beauty has. The film - powered by astonishing performances from Spacey, Bening, Bentley and Cooper - has an amazing power that affects the viewer in places they least expect. As both a masterfully perceptive tragedy and a bitingly funny satire, it's a film of devastating and unforgettable magnitude. The way it explores Lester's inadequacies - and his realization that society has gone to hell - feels frighteningly true to life. The poignant, touching and heartbreaking experience of American Beauty is perhaps the two most rewarding hours you will ever spend in a movie theater.
(C) 1999, Jamey Hughton
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