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From:Annette Bening , Thora Birch , Chris Cooper , Peter Gallagher , Sam Robards , Paramount , Sam Mendes , Dreamworks Video ,
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User Rating: Amazon Sales Rank:#1334 |
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3 of 3 customers found the following review helpful:
 Truly beautiful in an alarmingly tragic way..., 2007-08-02
Standing tall as one of my all time favorite films and one of the most deserved Best Picture wins of all time, `American Beauty' never loses its impression on me. I'm forever in awe at its overall magnitude; its presence that is so overwhelmingly absorbing. From Kevin Spacey's fantastic Oscar winning performance to each and every supporting player the cast is golden and the charisma and chemistry is dynamic and ultimately unrivaled. What makes `American Beauty' so enthralling and captivating to me is the sheer relatable atmosphere and utter honesty that it portrays. This is a life not unlike our own, with the same dilemmas and controversies, the same dreams and ambitions and no matter how perfect we think we have things there is always something missing, and sooner or later we're going to have to make a change in order to find our center. Brilliantly, and I mean that with every fiber of the words very meaning, `American Beauty' fleshes out that very innate desire.
The film follows Lester Burnham as he goes through his mid-life crisis, realizing that his wife doesn't love him anymore, his daughter finds him creepy and uninteresting, his job infuriates him; basically that his life in general is far from what he wants it to be. Through a catalog of events he begins to make serious changes, starting with his growing infatuation with his daughters cheerleading friend Angela. He begins to work out more, eat better and enjoy a little recreational drug provided by his neighbor's son Ricky. He quits his job and starts up working at the local burger joint where he can slack off and live life a teenager. He buys the ridiculously expensive sports car because he wants to and develops an attitude that repels those around him intent on dragging him down. In essence Lester becomes the man that everyman wishes he could become but lacks the `balls' to do it himself. Lester is everyman, just pushed to the limit of what any man can take.
But this film is far more than just about a single man and his crisis. Lester's wife Caroline is also going through a bit of a mid-lifer herself. She's finally come to the realization that she is more than Lester will ever be and she wants, no she needs someone that's a better fit for her. Lester proves himself a constant embarrassment to her, and his newfound identity is making it difficult for her to function in their life together. Lester's daughter Jane is pulling away from her parents due to their apparent insanity. She can't take them anymore, her mothers constant bickering and hysterics, her father's pedophilic lust for her best friend and sudden `cool guy' syndrome. She distances herself from Angela and forms a closer connection with her neighbor Ricky, a boy who opens her eyes to the real beauty that surrounds her.
But both Ricky and Angela themselves offer insight into the growing pandemic surrounding the American public as a whole. The film effortlessly exposes the common issues that are present in almost every home and exist within almost every human being. Ricky exists in a household run with a cold fist by his father. His every move is scrutinized and so he acts out in rebellion by living his life the exact opposite of his father's wishes, albeit behind his back. Angela is the classic case of girl-hates-self, girl-needs-attention but here she feeds off her characters energy, and most of all Spacey's energy and helps create a character that is in the end so touching and so real. Her final confrontation with Jane and Ricky is so heartbreaking and her feeling of rejection from Lester is so real. I actually was moved by her character almost as much as Spacey's.
The entire cast, not just Spacey, pull out all the stops here. Annette Bening is flawless as Lester's controlling and hysterical wife (and I mean hysterical in both of its forms, both hilarious when needed and outrageously dramatic when needed). Thora Birch is also dynamic as Jane, and Wes Bently brilliantly captures his characters unique outlook at adolescence. Mena Suvari though really stood out for me as Angela, as did Chris Cooper who plays the domineering and controlling father effortlessly. Peter Gallagher also develops a nice supporting character, although he comes off more as a cameo, and that's hard for me to acknowledge since under normal circumstances I find him nauseating. Here though he is fantastic, both charming and endearing while equally repulsive and condescending. How he manages to pull that off is beyond me. Each and every actor here benefits greatly from the brilliant script, that's for sure.
So, in closing, `American Beauty' is everything that is beautiful about American cinema. It's engrossing, entertaining, refreshing but most of all moving and emotionally investing. I often battle my feelings about Spacey's win only because the competition that year was so steep and I feel Crowe gave the performance of a career, but every time I watch this brilliant film I'm reminded of why he deserved his win. He was so invested, so grounded in Lester that he created one of the most likable sinners of all time, a man who we grew to love and embrace despite his faults. `American Beauty' will always be one of the most deserving Oscar winners to date and will be remembered every time we look in the mirror.
4 of 4 customers found the following review helpful:
It's in the bag. , 2007-08-01
Suburban angst turns funny then tragic. We should all reach the spiritual level Kevin Spacey's Lester Burnham reaches in his last hours.
The kid with the video camera becomes a surprising focal point thanks to a superb acting performance by Wes Bentley. The kid and his recording of the floating plastic bag hold the key to the spiritual treasure of "American Beauty."
This first-time collaboration of director Sam Mendes and screenwriter Alan Ball is a prime example of what Hollywood could deliver more of if the studio executives ever got their heads out of the sequels and the comic books. I'm convinced there are other fine scripts floating around waiting for the will and the daring to produce them.
2 of 3 customers found the following review helpful:
American Beauty, 2007-07-11
This superlative drama by theater director Sam Mendes peers at the dark side of American middle-class life with ripe, risqué humor and aching poignancy. Both screenwriter Alan Ball and cinematographer Conrad L. Hall were honored along with Mendes at the 1999 Academy Awards for their evocation of suburban alienation, but Kevin Spacey, whose cool, cynical narration constitutes the film's central nervous system, deserved all the acclaim he received for bringing Lester to life (including a Best Actor Oscar). Working in a subplot involving Lester's new neighbors, an unhinged Marine (Chris Cooper) and his artsy, drug-dealing son (Wes Bentley), Mendes gives this "Beauty" a gut-wrenching finale that completes Lester's transformation.
4 of 8 customers found the following review helpful:
Fantastic, 2007-06-22
American Beauty is the greatest movie ever made.
If you haven't already, watch American Beauty by yourself and give yourself some time afterwards to think it over. You will never, ever look at life the same way. It does exactly what movies are meant to do - give us a window into ourselves, and American Beauty does that better than any other film has ever done. No word of dialogue is unnecessary, no character exaggerated, everything is perfect...but if you have seen American Beauty you should know that already. Once you look closer at this movie, and see Beauty in every frame, it becomes so much easier to look closer and see Beauty in everything around you. You think I'm waxing poetic? Then you must not have seen the movie. Every character is a part of each of us: the Lester Burnham of change, the Carolyn of uncertainty and failure, the rebellion of Jane, the defeated Barbara, the false control of Angela and the Colonel, and the real control of Ricky. To me Ricky, not Lester, is the center of this story; he somehow controls or sets in motion the heart of Lester's rebirth and downfall. There are several parts of this movie where I lose control every time I see it, and none more so than the paper bag scene. To me that scene is simply the greatest monologue ever written.
I listened to the message of American Beauty - look closely and you can find Beauty in anything - and it changed my life. I rose out of a long, deep depression and started out into the world. Sometimes there is so much Beauty in the world, I can't even stand it, and it feels like my heart is going to burst.
This is the most beautiful movie I have ever seen.
4 of 7 customers found the following review helpful:
This is BY FAR the best movie that I have had the chance to lay my eyes on!, 2007-06-15
Let's get this out of the way: Annette Bening (Carolyn) totally steals the show. She shows so many different sides to a human being, especially the extreme. She's super peppy and I almost loved to hate her in the movie. Kevin Spacey was pretty good. He plays a depressed man named Lester who's highlight of the day is pleasuring himself in the shower in the morning. In many ways I could relate to this character. Actually, most of the characters are relate able. Lester and Carolyn have a daughter by the name of Jane. She's pretty mean to her parents and wishes they would just disappear. I liked her character, but Mena Suvari's character was even better. I like the scene where some girl says "You're no goddamn Christie Turlington." Her response to that was very funny.
The ending was quite exciting with many things going on so I was definitely sad when it was over...I'm glad they never made a part II to it too because they probably would have tainted the name.
I left a lot out but I'll just say that if you haven't seen the movie, you really need to. Rent it, buy it, borrow it from a friend; whatever. Just get your grubby paws on it. It shows how beautifully messed up life can be. Bittersweet really. :)
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