Surreal, clever drama (spoilers)

Rating: Null/10 (4 April 2004)

At one point, a character in this movie remarks "There's nothing worse than being ordinary". She's later brought down to earth when she's told she is just that. Looking the very idea of what it is to be ordinary in middletown, suburban American, and gleefully yet soulfully turning it upside down is the essence of "American Beauty".
True, it is not the only film to have done this. "Edward Scissorhands" is one example, the first "Scream" movie is another. Yet this film possesses a witty, ironic sense of humour combined with a vividly powerful streak of sexuality that makes it stand out from the crowd. As presented, the beautiful middle class haven of tree-lined drives, lovely houses and pretty white picket fences creates a materialistic environment inhabited by jaded, alienated people living in deadened, fragmented relationships.
The main protagonist is our narrator Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey), an advertising executive who on the surface seems perfectly content but in reality is genuinely unhappy. He hates his job, his daughter Janey (Thora Birch) hates him, and he's trapped in a passionless marriage to Caroline (Annette Bening), an uptight, neurotic real estate agent. An encounter with his daughter's petite best friend (Mena Suvari), reawakens his lust for life and he sets about changing things, not necessarily for the better. Meanwhile his Janey has developed a curious attraction for Ricky Fitts (Wes Bentley), the strange boy living next door...
The film is very beautifully shot, and key moments are well accentuated by a gentle, haunting music score. But the strength of this film is in the characters, brought to life by a terrific script and some superlative acting.
Kevin Spacey is very good as Lester Burnham, livening his sheer inertia with a cutting, wise-cracking flippancy. Spacey captures his gradual transformation from bored corporate drone to liberated middle-aged adolescent with relish and a quiet depth. Wes Bentley is only slightly weaker as Ricky. At times he's a little too smug and self-centred to be completely likeable, but his street-smarts and articulate, subtle emotion just about overcome that.
Thora Birch is thoroughly likeable as Janey, and makes her character's awakening interesting and convincing. Birch is very well cast, as she's beautiful without being overtly glamourous. Her attraction to Ricky is as much psychological as it is physical. Ricky likes her for her earthy nature and unshowy beauty. She is attracted to his honesty, his ability to see beyond the superficial, as well as his gift for finding beauty in simple, random events like a plastic bag floating in the wind.
The usually innocent seeming Mena Suvari enjoys herself here playing a contemptuous, voracious little slut. Yet even she finds some kind of redemption before the movie's end. Annette Bening is brilliant as Caroline, a once vibrant young woman who has become a miserable obsessive, forever taking herself and her life too seriously.
With these well-etched portraits its difficult, if not to like, then to at least empathize with these characters. This remains the strength of this surreal and thought-provoking motion picture.