Funny, Sad, Dark and Deep...All in 1 Film. One of my favorite Kevin Spacey Films

Rating: 10/10 (22 September 2013)

In his directorial debut, Sam Mendes took home five Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best director for American Beauty. American Beauty is a dark comedy that takes place in a perfect suburban neighborhood with what is supposed to represent the perfect suburban family, on the surface, but what lies underneath proves otherwise.
Kevin Spacey brilliantly portrays Lester Burnham, an unhappy husband who undeniably has no control of what goes on in his personal and professional life. His wife drives him to and from work and views him as a colossal failure and very peculiar. His voice-over in the beginning of the film confirms that he will be dead in less than a year. He also feels in some ways, he is already dead. When Lester attends his daughter Jane's (Thora Birch) cheerleading performance with his overbearing and controlling wife Carolyn, played by Annette Bening, he develops an unlikely obsession with his daughter Jane's friend Angela Hayes (Mena Suvari) and decides to turn his life around. He begins to fantasize regularly about Angela, quits his job, bribes his boss for $60,00, pursues a fast food career, works out and even smokes marijuana he buys from the new neighbor boy Ricky Fitz, played by Wes Bently.
As the movie progresses, the dark humor as well as a sense on sadness for the characters takes over the viewer. Carolyn, Lester's wife, has an affair with her real estate competitor, The Real Estate King Buddy Kane (Peter Gallagher), and continues to unknowingly push her only daughter further away. Carolyn always appears to be very put together, right down to her pruning shears matching her clogs, but she has several breakdowns throughout the film. Jane is disturbed and disgusted by Angela's flirty behavior towards her dad, yet she continues to invite her to sleepovers. Jane also has self-image issues because her mom accuses her of purposely looking unattractive so this rebellious teen is saving her money for a breast augmentation. The neighbor Ricky videotapes the Burnham family daily in an effort to escape his own reality, focusing quite a bit on Jane who he tapes because she's intriguing. Ricky lives with his marine father Col. Frank Fitz USMC (Chris Cooper) who runs his family like the military. Col. Fitz tests Ricky for drugs and abuses him when he feels his son is disobeying the orders and morals of the family. What Ricky doesn't know is his father has a dark secret he also has been covering as well.
Sam Mendes created this masterpiece by minimizing the editing on the intense scenes and having the camera slowly focus in on the character or characters at that time. Typically, the scenes allow for the mood to be clearly represented because they focus in on the character's faces and expressions. The music in this film also plays a key role in allowing for smooth transitions from scene to scene. The music in this film is soft and subtle, it's whimsical and eerie, and it is also exotic and sensual. The music becomes the invisible sound throughout, allowing a deeper focus on the emotions and the moods of each of the characters.
An unfortunate turn of incidents in infidelity, sexuality confusion, complete miscommunication and assumption of circumstances cause this family and their neighbors to spiral out of control, some even to the point of no return. This movie ranks high on the must see list but not based solely on the script. The music, feelings, humor and drama make this an interesting film with twists and turns you may not see coming. It is Kevin Spacey's voice-over at the beginning and the end of American Beauty though, that set clarity to the entire mood and tone of the film. The deep, dark secrets of suburban life that are apparent in American Beauty are similar to those in Little Children (2006). Little Children also represents a story of infidelity, relationships, fantasies and controlling spouses. These movies send a strong message that everyone has a battle they are fighting and based on that, you should not judge people because you may have know idea who they really are or what they may be going through.