By any other name

Rating: 10/10 (25 February 2012)

American BEAUTY (1999) Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Chris Cooper Rated R. 5 Academy awards. Tagline: "...look closer."
If this film bothers you, you're not alone. It does push buttons. The suburban middle class dream sometimes is not exactly what it appears to be on the picture perfect surface, and it gets taken to the wood shed here. The white picket fence can only hide so much from view before the dark secrets are finally uncovered. The Thomas Newman musical score is evocative with a hovering sense of sweet melancholy, yet it has a thoroughly haunting, icy-edged poignancy that cannot be resisted; it reflectively explores the hollow rewards of the death trap known as the rat race with all of its inherent disillusionment. More than a musical underscore, this is a sublimely eloquent work of art by Newman, perhaps his signature best, so very beautiful that when I hear it, it overflows and I don't know how I can possibly hold it all inside. This is a film that is funny, sad, disturbing and strangely beautiful. This movie is new every time I watch it. I never seem to remember everything that it contains, yet at times it's somehow impossible to forget a single moment. For cinema lovers especially, this motion picture is a masterfully crafted experience. Warning: This movie is not for those who are looking for simple escapist entertainment or for those who tend to hide their head in the sand. It's far from simple and it's uncompromisingly blunt. This is as sly as a film can possibly be, where your soul is given the opportunity to connect all the dots, and you're left to discover the true nature of beauty that's always there in front of us. By any other name...