Our desperate attempts at finding a deeper meaning

Rating: 9/10 (28 November 2004)

Have seen the movie for the third time and once again enjoyed it immensely. As in all worth while classics, the theme is about our everyday lives and our desperate attempts at finding a deeper meaning. Kevin Spacey, who is once again superb,has reached a point in his existence where he suddenly realizes what life is, has been and what the future has to offer:the only possible answer is: death. This cruel insight (which hits us all like lightning one day or another)is so overwhelming that he sets off on an ultimate search for fulfilment, hoping to find it in a glorification of earthly love. His wife ( an excellent Annette Benning)who is also a victim of the sense of doom does exactly the same although her desperate attempts at finding "love and understanding" are more down to earth and do not carry the inherent dramatic message of disaster which Spacey irradiates from the opening scenes on.In the background are the young ones who also have to cope with their search for meaning:their doubts and feelings of insecurity are delicately portrayed by means of exquisite dialog and excellent camera work. Are their ways of escaping from the boredom and predictability of life in general? The inherent message of the movie is "yes" but .. the price we pay may be much higher than we initially believed.Another important aspect of American Beauty is that it illustrates how difficult it is to communicate in present-day society: we are all so preoccupied with appearances and how others see us that we refrain from expressing our true selves or feelings of doubt and insecurity.The weak part of this movie is the ending: both the husband and wife reach a form of catharsis as a result of their sudden insight into what they have lost by trying to take on a new identity. Admittedly,too far-fetched and gratuitously moralizing. A special mention for Thomas Newman: "Dead Already" & "Any Other Name" are beautiful musical themes.