American Beauty is a pure masterpiece.

Rating: 10/10 (16 August 2011)

American Beauty-****-A Masterpiece- Directed by: Sam Mendes, Written by: Alan Ball Starring: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Chris Cooper, Allison Janney, Peter Gallagher, Mena Suvari, Wes Bentley.
Sam Mendes' first feature presents an affectionate and satirical look at American life in the suburbs centering around a dysfunctional family trying to find the meaning of life amongst all the chaos of their lives. Spacey is trying to relive his teenage years which leads him into domestic, professional, sexual, and financial difficulty. Bening is his uptight wife and looks for sex from other extramarital sources. Birch is their teenage daughter who is attracted with a kid next door obsessed with his video camera and whose family troubles involve psychological disorder and sexual repression.
Mendes develops characters for his satire, not caricatures and keeps the perception of society reasonable and believable. The characters are certainly not role models, but they are likable. Spacey, our protagonist, is sexually attached to a teenage girl, quits his job, and smokes pot. What's heroic or likable about those qualities? That is where Mendes (along with Ball)'s genius comes into play. The members of society we normally look down upon are the film's heroes, mostly it is because they are the normal characters of today's society.
That is the piercing honesty that makes this film so acidic in its delivery. Cooper's character, a homophobic marine, a man society would most likely look up to is the film's antagonist. This reflects cultural shifts and the irony of the proposed American lifestyle over the true perception we have over our lives. That is the poison this film holds to our heads and refuses to let go until it forces an honest reaction over all the programmed reactions we force ourselves to have for the sake of being well-liked and appreciated in our communities.
The romance between Birch and Bentley is the only relationship in the film that is driven out of love and not sex or status. Bentley's character is the most ironic point Mendes makes within the film because he appears the weirdest and most perverted but he turns out the most honest and beautiful. This further emphasizes Mendes' point that life is different from the outside looking in rather than the inside looking out.
Mendes changes the way we look at each other and the way we look at ourselves. He questions appearances and frames of mind, much like Todd Solondz's Happiness. Though that film's mastery is evident, this is the most connectible American drama/satire released in years.