American Noise

Rating: 6/10 (6 December 2016)

A 90's classic? A beginners' luck masterpiece? or an over-hyped noisy shell? Much like the pseudo cult movies of today's internet era, American Beauty's message and strength fades quickly as the viewer scrutinizes the choices made by the director, specially concerning characterization. The use of character stereotypes as a plot tool slowly descends into a way of dumbing down the 'cult' message, appealing to broader audiences that wouldn't understand a higher level of finesse. Every single character in the movie is a stereotype. Lester is the typical middle-life crisis man, the daughter is the typical parents-hating entitled teen, the gay couple and the army homophobe are, well, exactly what they sound. No one ever surprises you. The depictions are so uninspired and shallow that I caught myself waiting for a sudden turn of events to reveal the real face of a character, to uncover someone interesting. It never happened. Even the subliminal messages are everything but subtle. The 'American Beauty' red roses, the 'Look Closer' sign, the homoerotic undertones at the Fits' family, the staging of all main characters as suspects in Lester's death. Cheap symbolisms and loud noises all around.
You can pinpoint a directional failure when the entire movie can be understood without you even seeing it - try hearing American Beauty with your eyes shut. It's completely comprehensible. Nothing of plot importance happens without narration or heavy dialogue. What's the need of your expensive attention? That's extra crippling in a movie that stumbles around people's notion of beauty. In the end, American Beauty is a mediocre movie that tries too much - and fails stupendously - at being great. There's nothing left to the viewers interpretation. There's no whispered message. Everything's screamed. Maybe that's the 'American' part of it, the need to shout in order to be heard. The 'beauty' part is, well, not so clear. The film's final message is obvious though, between the lines of the final shot, when a small delicacy leaks through the rough fabric of the clichÃ© interactions: never underestimate the power of subtlety.