The best picture of the year!!! **** out of ****

Rating: 10/10 (21 October 1999)

AMERICAN BEAUTY (1999) ****>
How do you review a movie with as much emotionally harrowing power as "Amer ican Beauty," being able to only use words, and still give the film the justice it deserves? It is next to impossible to do. "American Beauty" is not a comedy, even though it's surprisingly hilarious at times, and contains some very witty and outrageous dialogue. The film is not a drama, nor is ita thriller or an action picture. If the truth be known, "American Beauty" doesn't fit agreeably into any given category. What this film is; easily the best picture of the year to date. That said, the film isn't for everyone. It isn't a date movie, a feel-good movie, nor is it appropriate to take the family to on a Sunday afternoon. Sam Mendes has constructed a flawless and mesmerizing production that is mature and adult, intended for people who are emotionally effected by movies---and it sure is a beauty.
The film centers on one main character, who is going through a mid-life crisis. His name is Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey), and at first glance, it may appear that him, his wife, Carolyn (Annette Bening), and his daughter, Jane (Thora Birch from "Alaska"), have a perfectly happy family life.
While things look as if they are going well for the Burnhams, in reality, it's everything but. Lester's fourteen year career is going nowhere. His boss is just about to start layoffs after they decide who is needed and who isn't. And Lester's presence sure isn't required for the company to function properly. His wife is hiding her inner emotions behind a fake smile that she puts on for all her friends. She is having an affair with the opposing real estate agent, Buddy, after learning how much the two of them have in common.
His daughter hates him and they barely communicate with each other, not to mention the fact that she is saving up money for breast implants, not that Lester cares about her. His new neighbors are a strict family in which the father, Colonel Fitts, beats his son and hates the fact that he lives right next door to two homosexual lovers. His son, Ricky, is actually a successful drug dealer, whose business later becomes involved with Lester. He is also obsessed with uncovering and videotaping the beauty in things.
"American Beauty" is the story of Lester's reincarnation. Once he lays eyes on the love of his dreams, one of Jane's best friends at a cheer leading seminar, he instantly wakes up to the world around him. He feels that there is a meaning to his life, and won't let anyone, not his boss, or his wife, or his daughter, take that away from him.
Director Sam Mendes pays close attention to each individual character, giving them an inner personality, depth, and most of all, complexity. Lester is the center of the story here, that is obvious. But what precise, detailed emotional characteristics explored with the character here. The result is hypnotic empathy for most of the movie's main characters---who are perfectly cast and wonderfully portrayed.
Of course, a character is only as good as the performer playing him or her. In the case of "American Beauty," the starring roles are acted by first class performers. I have always been a huge fan of Kevin Spacey, who is most famous for his superb performances in "Seven," "The Usual Suspects," and "The Negotiator." In this film, he defines his character with the right amount of emotional depression and inner complexity needed. Once again, the Oscar goes to Spacey. Annette Bening also has her career high with her performance. She provides the hidden suffering and unhappiness that Carolyn Burnham requires. She fills her with determination and personal respect, all that exists falsely down deep. The actors involved with the Burnham family form the decisive formation of a realistic dysfunctional family.
The movie not only triumphs with its characters, design and presentation, but also with the unique and elaborate structure it beholds. The film is held together with conflicts in the narrative through line--a series of events that connect to one other. The internal and external problems are faced within the narrator, Lester. The tensions arise, become more and more complicated, then the issues are solved. But this is not your ordinary climax, here. It is not necessarily unexpected, but when it concludes itself, one would be lucky to walk out of the theater without an emotional reaction---regardless of how heavy it may be. The movie ends how it needs to end. It leaves us with not a message, nor a moral, but a character who has lost everything yet feels the best about himself as he has in the longest time.
"American Beauty" is a rare film. More than just a big production hoping to gross millions of dollars. It is a lot more than that. It is an explanation of why I love the movies so much.