An "American Beauty" for the Psychologically Deranged

Rating: 9/10 (28 March 2002)

This movie is very much an acquired taste; you will either love or hate it. It is not for everyone as it is a very dark and brooding film. I, if you hadn't guessed, loved it. It has many, many layers of subtext and I won't lie, it is somewhat hard to follow and the ending (not a spoiler) may very well leave you confused, as it is very open to interpretation. Thus it may require more than one viewing to get the complete picture of this film. It is extremely slow paced, though it is not a setback, it is not for those with a low attention span. It is a refreshingly original film, with a great musical score, while it is mostly very simple it fits well with the movie. Jake Gyllenhaal gives an absolutely astounding performance, which makes the movie worth watching alone. As does Mary McDonnell, who I found to be extremely likable. The rest of the cast also delivers great performances, though for the sake of time and space, I will not acknowledge individually, they are all nonetheless great.
I find the realistic, yet ultimately satirical portrayal of the self-help guru subplot is a very interesting and great part of the movie. It pokes at the extremely self-righteous who are so easily brainwashed by anyone with a nice appearance and views that are so generalized that they can fit theirs that they become so involved and so impassioned by such fluff that it is absolutely nothing when it is subject to scrutiny. So much so, that you may be angered by how easy it is to generalize ideals, package them, sell them, and get inordinate amounts of money off of the weak (isn't that right phone-in psychics?).
This movie is a dark and evocative masterpiece. Interestingly, it is not exactly possible to be justly classified, as it is very transcendent genre-wise. One minute it is a gothic romance, the next a teen coming-of-age story, the next a twisted psychological drama, then a time-travel sci-fi thought maker, then a family drama, and then back again. I highly recommend this movie to any movie lover or anyone interested in broadening one's horizons.