American Beauty (1999)
Cast: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, Mena Suvari, Chris Cooper, Allison Janney Director: Sam Mendes Screenplay: Alan Ball 120 Min. Rated R
Review by Donlee Brussel
"American Beauty" is the impressive off the wall, jet-black magnum opus dramedy debut from writer Alan Ball and director Sam Mendes. It's the story about Lester (Kevin Spacey) and Carolyn Burnham (Annette Bening). They're an extremely happy couple like Mike and Carol Brady with their friends, neighbors & co-workers. They go to company events; they look the look, talk the talk and walk the walk. As the tagline says, "Look closer…'
The Burnhams are actually a dysfunctional couple deteriorating. Carolyn has an "I just took Prozac" look on her face as a real estate saleswoman and she's thinking about cheating on her husband. Lester on the other hand, is sedated. Spacey's character is a "colossal loser" hated by his wife and adolescent daughter. He's a man dead on the inside, the highlight of his day is jerking off in the shower.
Lester Burnham's life changes when he develops a crush on his daughter's best friend, a vixen cheerleader (Mena Suvari). It brings back his mojo that's been missing since college ended. Meanwhile, his daughter Jane (Thora Birch) develops a relationship with the enigmatic boy next door named Ricky (Wes Bentley). Bentley's character is a voyeur who lives with his military-minded homophobic father (Chris Cooper) and estranged mother (Allison Janney). Throughout the film, we will see all the characters go through numerous changes.
Kevin Spacey and Annette Benning seem to only get better with age. They give Oscar-worthy performances that remind us why they were so remarkable in the first place. They're so good in fact, that you'd think in a movie like this, only the leads would be impressive. Surprisingly, the supporting cast matches the main characters blow for blow.
At the beginning of the year, people were talking Oscar for Cooper because of his role as a controlling father in "October Sky." Now he'll have to get it for his truly stand out work in "American Beauty" that is far superior to anything else he's ever done. Then there are the three young adults in the film, all of which hold their own with these seasoned vets with highly respectable performances. It's safe to say that all the players here invigorate a lot of life into the already wonderfully three-dimensional characters that Alan Ball created for them.
"American Beauty" is that rare film, one with both crackling dialogue and intricate character development in addition to everything else. Though some think it is impossible in this day and age, Ball has done it. He's concocted one of the most gleaming scripts in a long time. Chances are, he'll be picking up an Oscar or at least a nomination for Best Original Screenplay. This scribe has dialogue up there with Kevin Smith, David Mamet and David Rabe. He's taken the old dysfunctional family plot and given it enough clever and adroit twists to make it a gem amongst all the wannabes.
Sam Mendes masterfully directs scenes here with beautiful imagery and style in stride. He is only complemented by Conrad L. Hall's superb brand of cinematography that includes close-ups of the actors and actresses at their most emotional. His distinctive touches contributed to the film make it all the more unique. "Beauty" also has another hauntingly effective score from the always refreshing Thomas Newman that is genuinely sublime.
There are many other admirable traits in "American Beauty." I'd like to list them all here. However, I'd rather just recommend that you all witness this thought-provoking tour de force yourselves.
- © 1999 by Donlee Brussel
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