Midlife crisis : it is no crime to lust and have a cuckold tag.

Rating: 8/10 (20 July 2007)

Sam Mendes comes from the field of theater and it is a nice surprise that his film doesn't suffer at all from the ghosts of theatricality. American beauty is an intelligent film as it deals with many themes. All of them are rolled in a single,major theme of midlife crisis.It seems to me that midlife crisis is not the only reason behind the protagonist's weird behavior as it has got more to do with the two other people around him :his wife and his teenage daughter.Both of them harass him emotionally on different occasions.It is a good thing that this film has been appreciated by many people especially male viewers. By doing so they are getting ready to face the life when someone reaches 40 year of age.The film has a dream life quality and there are good traces of "stream of consciousness".It is sad that after this film Sam Mendes has not been able to make quality films.This is no wonder as sometimes most of the artists prove out to be a one hit wonder.However Sam Mendes will be remembered for American Beauty:a film that addresses some of the fundamental moral questions.