Full of themes

Rating: Null/10 (31 July 2011)

Brief Plot Summary: American Beauty is a film about a man in his mid-forties going through a mid – life crisis in which he resigns from his job as advertising agent to re-live his youth and impress a high school cheerleader who is friends with his child. Lester Burnham also begins smoking drugs, in which he buys his drugs from a neighbor named Ricky and begins a new job at a local restaurant. His wife, Carolyn begins cheating on him with a rival business salesperson. This affair doesn't bother Lester at all. Themes: In this film, there are a plethora of themes. A few of those themes are rejection, greediness, realism, and isolation. Through scheme, classification, and camera work these ideas are expressed soundly. Throughout the movie each individual is a representative in of a few of subjects listed. The first is greediness, Carolyn know this well. She denies Lester an intimate moment because she is more worried about ruining her material items and she wants more and better things (Mendes, 1999). In the theme of realism, the only person that was actually who they said they were Jane. Jane didn't put on to be anybody but herself. Ricky wanted his father to see him in one light and then in the mean time be a different person when at school or in his community by being a drug dealer. The colonel is the main culprit; he wants to appear to be against gays but in reality is secretly gay himself. Actors with Character Names Kevin Spacey aka Lester Burnham Thiora Birchaka Jane Burnham Scott Bakulaaka Jim Olmeyer
Reference to one other film similar to this film: this movie is similar to the Virgin Suicides because like American Beauty and Lester developing an infatuation with Angela. The Virgin Suicides a clique of boys develop a liking to a group of girls (siblings).
Two techniques: In the film, sounds and camera angles are a major importance to the film. In the film there was a wide utilization of motionless pictures and sluggish pans and up close and far out views to spawn turbulence. American Beauty pursues a storyline type film, just briefly moving into the disarranged beginning of Ricky the drug dealer and Jane the daughter or Lester and Carolyn videotaping each other carrying on a conversation (Mendes, 1999). Also, in this film, sound was used to show Lester's imagination and gives a voice of the mind frame of the character. The soundtrack ---the pop music ---is used to show Lester's attempt to re-do his youth.
Tie in comment on theme: The theme in this film is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That is how Lester views it. Lester saw that money didn't make him happy and wanted to re-do his teenage years when he was the happiest. The film also tied in because beauty isn't always about what looks beautiful, for example Angela, who was beautiful but did not have the character and Jane who did not have the outward beauty, but had a heart of gold.