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"American
Beauty"
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening,
Thora Birch, Peter Gallagher,
Wes Bentley, Mena Suvari
2 hours, 2 minutes
Rated R
Dream Works Home Entertainment
[MAY
19, 2000] I
was warned, and now I’m warning you. "American Beauty"
is not about beautiful beauty. It’s not about love. It’s not
about success, or happiness, or anything to be cherished or
appreciated. But it might be about America.
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I
believe that "American Beauty" is supposed to be a
comedy. There are a few times when I chuckled during this film.
But reflecting back, if there hadn’t been those moments of dark
humor, those few moments of quirky release, this film would have
crumbled into the deep morass which it is pointing toward, and
attempted to take me with it.
It
is the story of Lester (Kevin Spacey); his wife, Carolyn (Annette
Bening); and their teenage daughter, Jane (Thora Birch); who are
not just unhappy, they're desperately unhappy. Lester’s marriage
is failing, his daughter is estranged, his job has lost every
sense of worth and dignity, and nothing remains of the hopes and
aspirations he had planned on. One day, in a mid-life-crisis
fashion, Lester seems to wake up, realize how miserable he is, and
with the help of the new neighbor boy (Wes Bentley), sets out on a
course to change his own life. His movement to assert new meaning
sets up a chain reaction, and everyone’s life is affected
(though not necessarily for the better).
"American
Beauty" is a story about the denigration and decay of the
most basic American unit, the family. This movie does not seem to
remark on how everything got to be so rotten. It merely presents
it in its damaged and failing form, and seems to be making a
statement about where it going from here, at least in the short
run.
(To
top of second column)
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This
plot is so devastatingly negative, the language in this film and
the ideas it presents are so demeaning and so unattractive that I
walked out on this movie once (I realized that I needed to review
this film and so forced myself to return). There were so many
scenes that were filled with unhealthy concepts (which we edited
out with the remote). This movie is rough to watch! "American
Beauty" has so much rough and sexual language that it will be
impossible to completely remote-edit it out. This film is obsessed
with reactionary, loveless sex. There is little actual nudity, but
you cannot escape the basic plot element of unhealthy
relationships.
I
also realize why this movie was nominated for and received so many
awards. The storytelling was perfect. The filming was gorgeous. The
casting was concise. The soundtrack and the music were wonderful. And
the acting was fantastic. Spacey’s portrayal of a darker-than-Willy
Lowman character was sublime. Bening was the very essence of the lost,
neurotic woman. Bentley made a believer of me in his portrayal of the
kid who reacted to a meaningless existence, creating meaning and
finding beauty amidst darkness, depravity and abuse.
I
cannot pretend that I am happy that I watched this film. I was not
entertained. There wasn’t a single image or thought that I came away
with that improved my perspective, raised my sights, or helped me be
positive or hopeful. In fact, I came away from "American
Beauty" having an emotional pall cast across my own
relationships, my own work, and my own emotional images of friends and
family that will take some time to recover from. It is wise to choose
carefully what you will expose and subject yourself to. As
"American Beauty" portrays, such decisions may have a
lasting impact. I give it 3½ stars out of 5.
[midge]
I’m
back from vacation and raring to hear from you. Send me email about
your favorite movies at midge@lincolndailynews.com.
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