Beauty must be in the eye of the beholders

Rating: 4/10 (6 March 2000)

This is a beautifully crafted *bad* film. On the plus side Sam Mendes seems to really understand actors and draws sympathetic, detailed performances from each actor. The film's problems are almost entirely attributable to the story and screenplay.
The film attempts to support the premise that someone can reclaim their soul by regressing to an immature, selfish, essentially adolescent position in the world. What is amazing and fascinating is how convincing this message is being received by (a proportion of) audiences despite the lack of conviction in the writing.
For example, a key line is the moment when Lester chastises his wife's materialism saying "This isn't life, this is just STUFF!". But only moments previously we have seen him enjoying his new remote-control toy car, and know that he has just indulged himself in a new car. It appears that it's only 'stuff' when it belongs to someone else.
This contradiction and implied selfishness is passed over casually without notice or comment by director and author - apparently insensitive to the dynamic subtleties they encourage us to "look closer" at. Similarly moral boundaries are crossed indifferently. What kind of creative artist doesn't bother to acknowledge moral transgression as a device to generate an audience response? It doesn't matter whether the author approves or disapproves that boundaries are crossed - it's part of their craft to plot a course through the moral landscape it presents, because that's important to the audience. Yet Lester's blackmailing, inappropriate lust, and drug taking are presented as equivalents to playing loud rock-music whilst out driving. In what purports to be serious drama, that's just sloppy narration.
None of the women characters are permitted any moral redemption. The closest being Lester's daughter who manages to find herself dependent on a psycho, drug-dealer to meet her need for liberation and esteem. Perhaps this is another clue that the author lacks the finer sentiments needed to set a moral lead for a generation.
"As Good as It Gets" more surely, convincingly and funnily tells a tale of moral redemption. "All About My Mother" startlingly vividly and more humanly shows people struggling to make meaning in a dysfunctional existence, and the standard for American suburban social satire is set by "The Simpsons".
I enjoyed the texture of the film, but it amounted to nothing and I was all too glad to get back on the street, feel the sunshine, smell the air, and touch the pavement again.