Dark View of Suburban Prison

Rating: 8/10 (19 March 2015)

Lester Burnham is a sniveling father that works a thankless middle class job and his wife Carolyn is unfulfilled by not living up to her full potential. Both of these facts are hidden by the rosy facade of suburban monotony they both have created for themselves. That is until each main character has a breakdown and they start breaking their respective molds. Lester decides he no longer wants to take orders at work and leaves on a quest to find what makes himself happy, including fantasies of his teenage daughters friend. Carolyn decides to meet a hotshot real estate broker for a meeting only to start an affair. From this point a complex storyline evolves with neighbors, wives and daughters creating turbulence in world narrated by Lester Burnham. American Beauty presents a darkly sardonic coming of age theme where Lester Burnham matter narrates his change. He blackmails his former boss for money to start his quest for meaning within his life. He buys a sports car he has always wanted and starts lifting weights to hopefully impress his uninterested wife. He takes a job flipping burgers to spend time fantasizing about Angela, his daughter Jane's high school friend. Jane herself is drifting away from Angela towards the mysterious neighbor Ricky Fits. Lester continues to narrate the changes each character stumbles through. Carolyn's ongoing affair enlivens her character to make bold choices in her life. She decides she can become successful selling real estate based on her fleeting affair with Buddy Kane. Jane Burnham involves herself with the shy but troubled Ricky who lives with his stern parents. His father a strict figure does not associate with the Burnham's newly found freedoms. These scenes describe the dark nature that belies the family. The cinematographer uses the color red throughout the film to portray passion, deceit, and death. The films red theme is pronounced and makes the use of a red rose noticeable in ads for the film. The cinematographer also uses wide-angle shots to allow you to see the full frame drama as is unfolds and close-up tight shots are few and far between. American Beauty follows a growing trend of films that show the fragile nature of suburban life and the dynamics of a dysfunctional American Family. Films like Thirteen, Thank You for Smoking, and Running with Scissors. Each of these films portrays a dark coming of age film, each with its own nuance.