Twisted! Brilliant?

Rating: 6/10 (24 September 1999)

Is this film a work of genius or perversity? Firstly, Kevin Spacey deserves all the credit for everything good in this film. Few performances have moved or puzzled me more. His character is sympathetic and sickening, hillarious and terrifing. The movie revolves around him, the other characters are merely his foils. His performance was spellbinding and because of it I want to like this film. But I can't... well, not entirely.
Sam Mendes and Alan Ball seek after perversity and controversy too methodically. It is the difference shock art and art that arouses controversy. The underlying force was attracting attention rather than showing us a personal vision. Perhaps that is why Spacey's performance is the core of this film. It is in a sense the vision of the film. Another actor might have destroyed the film by simply acting the material for an Oscar nomination. Spacey is the film.
Only Spacey and Wes Bentley seem to care about their characters. The other actors and the direction feels exploitive. I was especially disturbed by the Col. Fitts character. He was too much an intentional counter-stereotype and not enough a real person. He resembled a one-dimensional villian from typical Hollywood fare, scripted only for plot development. First, he behaves in a completely stereotypical manner, even grunting at a paper "the world's going to hell". Then his character's reality is sacrificed by the film for shock-value. In other words, first he only does what we expect, then he only does what we do not expect. Rather than a character he is a convenient cipher who can be sacrificed with out arousing politically correct controversy. I am disappointed that a film that in other respects was so innovative had to resort to cheap tricks for plot development. The gay neighbors too, are only stereotypes. They are caring, genteel, urbane and completely manufactured.
The film's strange finale approaches the spellbinding level of the best films of all time. It combines the strengths of the movie and turns a sickening tragedy into a strangely poignant and hauntingly uplifting conclusion. Just for that "American Beauty" is worth seeing even if it falls short of its true potential.