Masterpiece of Allegory With a Drama Shell

Rating: 10/10 (19 February 2000)

Reading some of the comments here on IMDB makes me sad. Those people who can't see past the plain plot and only get the "full of beauty enough to explode" message are missing a real treat of metaphorical content and soft-spoken beauty.
Yes, the movie's characters are a suburban family. Those people who think that the movie is *about* suburban life are really missing the key. The movie describes a seemingly plain family in a plain neighborhood; yet the family is surrounded by beauty (internal and external) and doesn't know it. In one sense it helps that they are in suburbia because it would seem that life there is so plain. In another sense it really hinders the point from getting across, because everyone now assumes it's just about "life in the suburbs".
Somehow I doubt that I am the only one who is either afraid of becoming a victim or is already a victim of the sedative, coma-inducing nature of every day life's hum-drum. The reason this movie excels is because it doesn't take the easy route (ala Fight Club) and seemingly condemn this type of life as some sort of torturous affair. It's easier to be negative than positive. Fight Club takes the easy route. Granted, it does a terrific job of taking the easy route. The hard route -- somehow transcending the drudge of everyday life -- is far more difficult. That is where American Beauty really impresses me.
To say the movie is simply about one man who is rediscovering his youth is grossly oversimplifying. All of the characters in this movie at some point *do* something about whatever it is that is bothering them. For this reason there is no character in this movie that could be described as "pure evil" as we might see in other dramas made poorly. Even the homophobic father, although certainly not someone to admire, at least is better understood and is someone to be pitied. And the young daughter, whose inner beauty remained invisible to her superficial high-school peers; who is so beaten-down with the superficial images of society that she more or less assumes that it must be her breasts aren't large enough and that's why she isn't as happy as her "friend."
And yet there are many other levels to this movie. The use of colors is astounding. I could write an entire college paper on the use of red (although I might end up paying a lot of money to see the movie multiple times). So many metaphors in this movie... the neighbor's "plate", the symbolism of flowers (the mother has a garden where she prunes and keeps them; Lester's visions; the roses in the vase towards the end, etc).
This movie reminds me a lot of the Graduate. In fact this movie could almost be said to be a sequel to it -- about a period in life / society a bit later but still with similar existential undertones. And, at least in my book, it ranks right up there with the Hoffman classic. This is my favorite movie this year, ranking higher than the utter masterpiece Princess Mononoke and the strange but beautiful Magnolia.
This movie is moviemaking at its best -- an enthralling plot dripping with metaphors, beautifully filmed, and with superb acting. If you want teeny-bopping cheesy love stories with lame endings, go see Titanic. If you want more obvious feel-good stories, stick with Good Will Hunting or Dead Poets Society. If you want quality drama/black comedy dripping with metaphors, go see this one.