What a movie!

Rating: 9/10 (6 June 2011)

Ever wonder what the mysterious neighbors down the street are up to? Do you ever wonder what kind of dark secrets and twisted tales might be lying just down the road from you? Wouldn't you like to know all of the harsh realities of your seemingly utopian suburb? Or would you? Would it really be worth it to know just how dark the simple suburban neighborhood can be? Could you really handle what kind of unexpectedly horrendous things could be unfolding so close to home in such a picturesque neighborhood like yours? Watch American Beauty and you'll find out.
1999's best picture winner tells the story of Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey), a depressed suburban husband/father who after so much ridicule and neglect from his wife and daughter decides he has had enough and attempts to improve his life. What really kick starts this change is his perverted obsession with his daughter's friend, Angela (Mena Suvari). And so while Lester tries to impress Angela, the rest of his family and neighbors try to cope with their own mundane existences. Lester's wife, Carolyn (Annette Bening), is a real estate agent trying to better herself in every way possible, trying so hard not to be a victim of herself. Lester's daughter, Jane (Thora Birch), is trying to survive living with her neurotic and psychotic parents, finding shelter in her next door neighbor Ricky, a nineteen year old boy who spends his days filming the subtle and rare beauties in life, while also dealing with an abusive father. This is a film that so masterfully blends together the twisted fates of a collection of fabulously interesting characters, all in an ironically simple suburban setting. It chronicles the dark side of the American dream and seeks to discover what true American beauty really is.
Films like this really just blow me away in every way possible. American Beauty is both hilarious and gripping, sometimes simultaneously. It possesses a script that is equally witty and laugh out loud hysterical as it is poetically and ingeniously constructed and structured. The film never leans too far to one side of its humorous and serious spectrum. There is always a dab of ironic hilarity in the serious moments, and a drop of biting sophistication in the comic scenes. This is a film where every scenes gets better and better. The film starts out with a ironically bitter attitude and the mood continues on like this, throwing in plenty of harsh satire that entertains as much as it gets you thinking. The entire story is so masterfully worked out with every character and every action contributing something to the themes of gilded beauty false images. It's also worth pointing out just how subtly these important themes are displayed throughout the film, never coming in as overbearing or blatantly obvious. Some of the messages are spelled out at times, but not without grace or poeticism. Yet the deeper meaning of this film is still excellently hidden in subtext underneath fantastic characters and an incredible story.
It's also worth mentioning the acting in this film. American Beauty wouldn't be the incredible movie that it is without some of the most impressive performances ever put on film. Kevin Spacey could not have played the sardonic, depressed, and hilariously bitter Lester Burnham any better. His performance is one of the few that I can confidently call perfect. He took home one of the most deserved Oscars of all time in 1999. And while Spacey carries the film so incredibly well, the supporting cast holds their own just as well. Annette Bening is incredible enticing as the deranged suburban wife and Thora Birch plays the daughter of two nut jobs so excellently. Mena Suvari as Angela, Jane's friend, is incredible, playing one of the strangest characters in a movie full of strange people. Then there is Wes Bentley and Chris Cooper as a father/son pair. Both of their performances are outstanding and the dynamic between these two characters is incredible. They create some of the most emotionally gripping scenes of the entire film which says a lot of a film that is so enthralling.
This is one of those rare films that works equally well when you take it at face value and when you read between the lines and think deeper into its hidden meanings. Everything about this film is excellent, and it all cultivates into one masterful final product that compels and mystifies to no end. This film is haunting in a realistically disturbing way. You will laugh, you will cry, you will be utterly blown away by American Beauty.