American Beauty

American Beauty (1999) starring Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, Mena Suvari, and Chris Cooper.

Before...again another one of those films that came out a long time ago. I saw it for the first time on DVD and was completely captivated by the filming. It was a marvel, the director had really thought about every single shot. Looking back on it now I still see it as one of my favourite films...will I have the same view of it 8 years later?

Lester (Spacey) and Carolyn Burnham (Bening) are on the outside, a perfect husband and wife, in a perfect house, in a perfect neighborhood. But inside, Lester is slipping deeper and deeper into a hopeless depression. He finally snaps when he becomes infatuated with one of his daughter's friends (Suvari). Meanwhile, his daughter Jane (Birch) is developing a happy relationship with a shy boy-next-door named Ricky (Bentley), who lives with a homophobic father (Cooper).

My fiancee's views..."Weird and creepy, and not one that I will rush to watch again anytime soon. I also thought that the acting was poop.★★☆☆☆"

Where to start...looking at it 8 years later, my view of it has changed. Through watching it with my fiancee, I talked wth her about it and started to understand some of her views of it. It is hardly the most happy film, looking at some quite hard hitting topics. It doesn't shy away from the topics and shows them in an honest light, which is refreshing. It portrays the darker heart of American Suburbia, which is actually fascinating; looking at drugs, underage sex and homosexuality. All these things the film portrays as taboo, whether they are or not we are getting the views of the characters, not the views of America as a whole.

The acting in this film is fantastic, Spacey puts in an Oscar winning performance. It is not just him that gives what I consider a career best. Bening, nominated for an Oscar, Birch, Bentley and Cooper all give stellar performances. Each of the actors in it are born for the parts they play, Sam Mendes got the casting perfect. For me though it is Bentley's role as Ricky Fittsin the film thats the stand out one.

The thing in the film that makes me want to watch it again and again is the visual imagery. The use of the camera's in the film deliver the films true push for it to be considered a masterpiece. It is in cinematography that the film truly triumphs, and it is testament to the fact that Conrad L. Hall got the Oscar for Best Cinematography. From delivering fantastic imagery in Lester's dreams to the stunning use of the camcorder imagery done by Ricky Fitts, from the stark bare look of the rooms to the different array of camera shots, Hall has created a sumptuous piece of visual imagery. It is wonderful.

All in all it didn't have the same impact as it did 8 years ago, visually stunning yes, but in watching it with my fiancee I saw a more soap opera side of it. There is definitely more of a clichéd soap opera element to it than I remember. The ending is terribly clichéd, giving it an almost murder mystery quality to it that detracts from the fantastic story. It is this clichéd element that brings the movie down from the five star rating I would have given it to...

★★★★☆