A beauty indeed

Rating: 9/10 (7 August 2003)

"American Beauty" was recommended to me a couple of years ago by a friend who is a Catholic nun. She regarded the film as a highly spiritual document. I put off seeing it, though, because I'd found the preview that I saw in the theater repellent.
Finally I watched the film via DVD and was simply bowled over by it. Spiritual? Yes. This film can provide material for extensive rumination on such abstractions as mercy, gratitude, trust, and other qualities humans often find themselves wishing for, deprived of, or strangely provided with at certain critical moments.
But above all I got the feeling that those who made this film had fun doing it. I've seldom seen any project as visually stylish, as audaciously conceived, and as artfully implemented. And above all--perhaps the one thing that will remain in my mind when everything else has faded--the soundtrack! I think it would be no exaggeration to call the use of music in this film a work of genius. The muted percussion that accompanies Kevin Spacey's character's fantasies has to be heard to be believed: I've never experienced anything quite like it. The timing of musical cues and the selection of music throughout the film is perfection itself.
I rated this film a "nine." I don't care if I never see a "ten." I might not be able to endure the pleasure.