Director: Mendes, Sam
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening

American Beauty is one of those rare films that left me speechless. It's harsh and refreshingly un-PC, and ironic without being satirical, but the most astonishing thing about the film is that it has every opportunity to be over the top and mean, and it never is. At least, not more so than life.

Set in Anytown USA, the first 40 minutes left me wondering where the film would be going. What was I watching? A sitcom? Another movie trying to be funny about how pathetic suburban America is? I was confused, and admittedly a little anxious. The first part of the film shows poor Lester (the always incredible Kevin Spacey), as the middle aged husband, masturbating in the shower. This, he says via voiceover, will be the best part of his day. He's right. He has a horrible soul-draining job, a power-hungry real estate selling wife Carolyn (played with almost schizophrenic reality by Annette Bening), and a daughter, Jane (Thora Birch), who in the peak of her teenage turmoil no longer feels the need to be his friend.

They all have their separate trials. Lester hates his job and feels estranged by the increasing pursuits of his wife, and longingly looks back to pictures of a time long gone. Carolyn goes mental trying to sell a sub-grade house consumed with her idealism that "to be successful you must portray an image of success." And young Jane craves a boob job, mostly because she's so influenced by her blond pal Angela (Mena Suvari), whose expression of beauty and sexuality constantly overwhelms and discontents her.

The film seems completely typical until some very key events happen, foremost being the arrival of a military family next door, an old bitter Marine Corps Colonel (played with surprising complexity by Chris Cooper), his distant shell-shocked wife, and their son Ricky (Wes Bently). Soon after they arrive, Ricky notices Jane and begins filming her constantly, and for a while the audience truly believes he's stalking her. He stares her down like a restaurant menu. We start to learn more about Ricky and his amazingly homophobic father right from the beginning, when a gay couple (Jim & Jim) in the neighborhood shows up at their door with a housewarming gift basket. "You say you're partners? In business?" the Colonel remarks.

In an unexpected turn of events, Lester gets a crush on his daughter's friend Angela and for the first time, wakes up out of his daily coma with the realization that he can change his life. This in turn begins a fast change for everyone in the family, as everyone starts going to where they really want to be. And Jane gets to know Ricky, who shows her all the things he has captured on film, which are centered on his fascination with the world around him.

The scenes that follow are completely unexpected and never seem convoluted. And we get to see how hatred and homophobia build to a tragic and violent conclusion in one of the most startling scenes in recent memory. The movie wraps up all the loose ends and leaves them open at the same time. It covers the idealism of success, values and love with some of the most detailed and revealing character studies I've ever seen. How appropriate, then, that the movie begins with 40 minutes of the predictable, only to be shaken by the realities underneath the shiny surface. It leaves you overwhelmed and without much to say. It reminds me of the scene where Ricky and Jane are lying in bed and Ricky stares at her with his grey-blue eyes and says, "Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world, I can't take it. It feels like my heart is going to cave in." So did mine.

--Greg Camilleri

Source : Obtained from PlanetOut.com