Deeper Analysis

Rating: Null/10 (12 May 2004)

Under the pretense of perfection, American Beauty is a film which seeks the divergence between artificial and true beauty. The characters are portrayed in an ideal community with ideal lives; however, beneath that layer remains the truth of corruption, cheating, and lies. Lester Burnham, the main character, is going through a mid-life crisis which affects the lives of those around him. He quits his job and resolves to entirely transform his life - In the process, destroying the façade which encapsulates the lives of the perfect American neighborhood.
Females in American Beauty are depicted differently along the spectra of commodification. Berger's surveyor/surveyed is purposeful as it portrays the meaning of the women to the males in the movie. Ricky Fitts, the new kid who is in love with Jane, documents his life with his video camera. The director uses this camera to portray that Ricky is analyzing everything around him. This camera is later used as a way to reveal the true beauty behind the perfection he is surrounded with. Jane is constantly being compared to Angela, as she is less `beautiful.' However, Ricky is often caught video taping Jane, as he finds beauty within Jane. Conversely, Lester lusts for Angela, searching for that `beauty' which is nothing more than an external desire.
The film challenges all nuances of the conventional `perfect' family. The neighboring houses each contain a gradient measure of happiness. Jim and Jim, the homosexual couple living next door to the Burnhams, have the most happy and successful relationship. Following them is the Burnham house, whose family is disrupt and uncooperative. The Burnham's other neighbors, the Fitts', have the most hostile environment in their household. To the external viewer, it would seem that the scale would be the reverse. However, the truth of American Beauty is that things should only be read beneath the surface.