A beautiful film

Rating: 9/10 (24 February 2001)

American Beauty is above all a film about feelings. Lester Burnham is a middle age man whose life has become too boring, everyday he has the same routine, till one day he decides to change. This could be a brief summary of the film. However, there is much more in this film that we can see in its plot. The films mainly deals with the American society, Lester is a product of that society, and how the "American way of life" can degenerate in a culture where life is a monotonous experience. At the same time this film wants to show that it's never too late, that people can change, but above all that life has to be enjoyed. We cannot allow our lives to become an empty experience. In the film there is a contrast between people who believe this, and act according to it, Lester, Ricky and Jane, and the other ones who live according to a society that is imposing rules on them, who live more worried about keeping appearances than about enjoying life. Lester's wife ambition to improve in her job, or Ricky's father obsession with discipline are two examples. The aim of the film is to show the life of these people living in a small street, when we see the first image of the film, we have a huge perspective, then it concentrates on Lester's street, because it could be any other street. The American beauty is all this, the way of life, ordinary people with ordinary jobs living in an ordinary home. However, if you look closer you realize there is more, each of this people is living a different life, the film shows these people to make us know that this is what life is all about, a man himself doesn't make any difference, but at least we can try to be happy in our ordinary lives.