...look closer

Rating: Null/10 (26 June 2002)

I have this movie on DVD and I watch it over and over again, and Alan Ball and Sam Mendes have shown me the omphh that has been missing in other films for a long time. I subscribe to a lot of the accolades to this film, but I do not think that it deserved Best Picture. It was an excellent film- but not an important one. As a kid, I grew up in suburban Orange County where there was truly a lot more than what seemed. I've seen comments posted that state that all of the "corruption" just isn't there: "fascist, repressed Marine Corps colonels; middle-aged men obsessed with high school girls; drug distribution amongst teenagers; etc." Well, I have news for those soccer moms who like to live in their hermedically sealed worlds and listen to Celine Dion- "LOOK CLOSER"! Kevin Spacey deserved Best Actor and Annette Bening was quite impressive as the two-faced housewife. The supporting characters were just as good and this movie never seemed to drag. It is not for everyone: it is unsettling, disturbing and somewhat raw. But a majority of conservative societies don't want the kind of in-your-face dynamic which this movie has. Well, okay. That's why they have movies like "Stuart Little."