Film Review: "American Beauty" (1999)

              Directed by Sam Mendes, American Beauty is a classic story of an aging man yearning for the youth and freedom of his glory days. We are immediately introduced to Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey), both the protagonist and first-person omniscient narrator of the film.

“My name is Lester Burnham. This is my neighborhood; this is my street; this is my life.

I am 42 years old; in less than a year I will be dead. Of course I don't know that yet, and

in a way, I am dead already.”

--Lester Burnham, American Beauty

               The cinematic techniques used in this film are not hidden. Mise-en-scène is a term used in cinema essentially used to describe everything put into a scene, a strongly deliberate aspect of American Beauty. It’s obvious that each prop, costume, and camera angle is collaborating to create a desired visual aesthetic. I found the film’s gorgeous mise-en-scène to be particularly prominent in a scene that depicts a conversation between Lester and his boss. The scene is set in an office with a notably dull color palette of browns and greys- both visible in the set and the actor’s costuming. The conversation is a struggle of power. Lester has been with the company much longer, but his younger, more successful boss is reviewing his performance. It’s the camera angles utilized in this scene that I especially want to focus your attention on. When we see Lester (Image I), a wide camera shot is used, and it’s glaringly obvious how tiny he looks in the large frame. Lacking subtlety, this is a comical way to make Lester seem insignificant- as though he's drowning in his surroundings. This is starkly contrasted with the shot of his boss Brad (Image II), whom is filmed from a low angle, a tactic commonly used to make both people and objects look larger and more dominant. So even though Lester is fighting for dominance, the film technique itself clues audiences in to who really has the upper-hand in the situation. These very deliberate camera shots are effective both in setting the mood of the scene at hand, and hinting to a couple recurrent themes of the film: power and success.

Image I. Lester

Image II. Brad

              At first, audiences are swayed to pity Lester. Right of the bat, we know his life will end soon. On top of it, he lives with his unaffectionate wife Carolyn (Annette Benning) and hateful teenage daughter Jane (Thora Birch). His family, in Lester’s own words, considers him to be a “chronic loser.” Dinner table conversations fall short, and we see an apparent lack of compassion and understanding within his family. We watch Lester sit in the back of his wife’s car on his way to work one morning, falling asleep and recalling a time when he felt better than he does now- and not so sedated.

              The wall of pity we work up in the first five minutes of the film does not take long to tumble to the ground. It's definitely repulsive to watch a middle aged man pine over his daughter's best friend, but what I thought was especially poignant about American Beauty was Lester's strong yearning to not be a loser. About halway through the film, we can take a look at Lester and see a man who has become nothing more than a 40-year-old with an unstable home life, an expensive pot habit, immoral feelings for a woman less than half his age, and a deep yearning to make a change in his life. The aforementioned wall of pity breaks down piece by piece as we witness Lester alter his body both physically and mentally for the woman of his dreams, harming his family along the way. We can only assume this is because the one to whom he’s trying to appeal is not compatible with who he is. Certainly by high school’s standards, a man who smokes pot, has an entry-level job and a crush on the leader of the dance squad is fairly standard. But that’s just the problem- by societal standards, these are not the building blocks of a successful middle-aged man, but of a teenager. Throughout the film, he goes from feeling as though he’s already died to smiling in satisfaction as he realizes his life is “great,” but with what to show for it on his legitimate deathbed? To me it seems that by most people's standards, Lester would be a much greater loser at the end of the film than at the start. But this then begs the question- does it matter, so long as he was happier that way? Each viewer's sympathy for Lester's life really depends on whether they are governed more by their emotions or moral compass. If doing the wrong thing makes you happy, is it really that bad? 

              Lester’s death was not surprising- we knew it was coming. What I did not anticipate as a viewer was the lack of resolution upon the protagonist’s death. All of Lester’s wretched actions culminated into a heart-stopping climax as we hear the gun fire, and I found myself immediately craving the next result. What happened next? I suppose it makes sense- if the narrator dies, it’s the end of the story.  Although able to describe his death, he can no longer continue with the events proceeding the gunshot. But whether it makes logical sense or not, I was left entirely unsatisfied.
               To wrap things up, the plot carried tons of valuable, poignant moments concerning youth, power, success, and the impermanence of life. The movie was pleasurable to watch and was very visually beautiful. However, although making a powerful statement, the movie did not make a lasting impression on me, and left me feeling as though the story never truly came to a close. I would rate American Beauty 3/5 stars.

Works Cited

Film

American Beauty. (1999). [film] Sam Mendes.

Text

Barsam, Richard. Looking at Movies: With Dvd & Wam3. S.l.: Ww Norton &, 2012. Print.

Web/ Images

"American Beauty." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.