american neo-existentialism

Rating: Null/10 (11 September 2000)

the reasons for watching this movie are innumerable. i can see a time where it will be a standard in any american pop culture course offered, not merely in the land, but anywhere in the world. not only do we get to witness kevin spacey's emergence into an assured maturity and stature as a classic american actor in the ranks of gregory peck, william holden, dustin hoffman, and martin sheen, but we also get to witness the proof that warren beatty's wife is actually an actress worthy of our attention. regardless of where you may have seen her before, this is the movie where there is simply no room to doubt her commitment to the actor's craft. annette benning seemed to me, before this movie, to be something contrived, almost pathetically dependent on the aesthetic pleasance of her name to garner notice. even her marriage to one of hollywood's legendary playboys seemed a contrivance intended to attract public notice. the irony is that all of these suspicions could still prove true, and yet, by virtue of her performance in american beauty, there can be no doubt about her ability as an actress. and if all of that weren't enough, there is thora birch. at eighteen years old, she has a presence that any actor would envy. in a movie that clearly and deliberately steps outside of the staid hollywood format, and in the company of actors with substantially established laurels, her work is almost shocking in consideration of her age. rather than analyze the plot, which effort could be the an adequate doctoral thesis, i believe it is enough to say that, judging by the result, everyone involved in the making of this movie must have delivered all the goods they had. american beauty lives up to its name.