An extraordinary tale of ordinary life

Rating: Null/10 (27 August 2002)

I have never seen such an extraordinarily ordinary film in my life. I realise that may not sound too good but believe me, this calibre of film will never be made again.
This is the story of an ordinary man and the mundane and often boring life he leads. Nothing excites him any more. That is until he meets his teenage daughter's best friend. Suddenly he finds himself waking form a dream and he begins to live his life the way he wants instead of just going through the motions.
In the process of fulfilling his own dreams he comes into conflict with his wife and teenage daughter who don't understand his desire to improve his life.
This is a very similar story to James Joyce's epic 'Ulysses' in that it is interested in the very mundanity and ordinariness of peoples' lives. The film often seems bleak and hopeless but its message is ultimately one of hope and perseverance.
The beauty of this film is its very ordinariness. Nothing of huge importance happens, there are no action scenes, no car chases and no real romance but that's what's so good about it. It shows us life as it really is, without pretension or facade and that is what I love about it. Hollywood has so much of a stranglehold that it's hard to find a film about real life these days.
All of the cast was wonderful especially Kevin Spacey as Lester Burnham. He plays apathy with great aplomb but his evident loneliness is also touching and heartbreaking. Annette Bening was also wonderful and Thora Birsh (the little girl from 'Hocus Pocus') was great as their angst ridden daughter.
A word of warning for anyone who's into action and adventure, stay away from this, you'll be bored out of your wits and you won't get it. This is a movie for those who like to ponder ideas and the meaning of life.