American Perversity?

Rating: Null/10 (10 October 2006)

This movie has many intertwining factors to it. For one the different sanctions of the American public are basically put as a jigsaw puzzle in this movie & its up to the audience to decide where those pieces fit together. Kevin Spacey again delivers with a tour de force performance as Lester Burnham, an out of touch office worker who seems to be void of any interests. Spacey's character is somewhat of a sarcastic metaphor for the effect that routine has on our lives. Annette Bening is also at her best as the perfect housewife, Carolyn who can only adapt to a lifestyle where she is in complete control. When Lester hits a strange mid-life crisis triggered by his daughters best friend, Angela (Mina Suvari) everything in his neat little world begins to unravel.
As their marriage hits rock bottom, Carolyn makes a grave error when she falls into a passionate romance with an opposing real estate worker. Their daughter, Jane (Thora Birch) also quickly becomes an outcast when she falls in love with an eccentric teen on drugs (Wes Bentley) who's emotionally distant father (Chris Cooper) likes to voice his negative opinions of homosexuals. This movie is so mixed up it would be almost impossible to judge the predictability of the film's ending yet you are so intrigued to know how it will all end up! The film will lead you to believe that in all this anarchy & chaos their is "beauty" but in my opinion it just ends up with more perversity! If you enjoyed watching Crash (2004) or Babel (2006) you may have a little bit of an insight into multi-layered story-lines. What really makes this film a classic is the fantastic dynamics of all the characters & what social message they present. Definitely worth seeing but be prepared to face some issues that are beyond your own reasoning! A good way to end the 20th century with an internal thought provoking film.
4.5/5