Instant Classic

Rating: Null/10 (5 February 2011)

This is a story about the implosion of one seemingly perfect American family. Lester (Kevin Spacey), Carolyn (Annette Bening), and Jane(Thora Birch) Burnham are a family on the brink. From the outside they appear to be happy but upon closer examination one can see that all of them are on the verge of falling apart. Lester is hopelessly depressed, Carolyn is scared to death of not succeeding, and Jane is struggling with self-esteem issues but is also being neglected by her parents who are caught up in their own misery. It's almost as if both of Jane's parents are simultaneously experiencing what is commonly known as a midlife crisis. Lester ends up quitting his job to work as a burger joint and becomes obsessed with Angela (Mena Suvari), one of Jane's best friends. As things get worse at home Jane builds a relationship with her new neighbor Ricky (Wes Bently) who is the son of a former marine and the victim of physical abuse.
This film takes the complexity of human relationships to a new level. There are several points within the film where the director made a point of showing the family photos where they were all smiling like they are happy. This was done to put emphasis on the facade they had been putting on as a family. He even went so far as to show family photos from when Jane was younger as if to show how long they had been pretending and that they were, most likely, exhausted from it. The director also does a great job of showing us these characters from all angles. We are able to see what each character looks like through the eyes of the other and from their own. We see that they are all lovable and they are all despicable. They are all human in every sense of the word.