“It’s called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it” — George Carlin 1999’s “American Beauty” follows a man as he wakes up from this dream and fights to make it a reality. A suburbanite in the midst of a midlife crisis, his quest is one to which any moviegoer can relate — the search for magic within the mundane. Numbed by normalcy, Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey, in a definitive performance) aims to break free of monotony, quitting his job and working out in an attempt to impress his teenage daughter’s sexy friend. He embodies the inverse archetype of the American Dream in the sense that his vision of success is one without professional or domestic responsibility. But it’s ultimately the same dogged pursuit of happiness. The film follows several other suburbanites searching for different incarnations of the same ideal: Lester’s wife, Carolyn (Annette Bening), strives for success in a male-dominated profession; Jane (Thora Birch), his daughter, saves money for a breast augmentation while rebelling against the standards of beauty to which her blonde friend and aspiring model Angela (Mena Suvari) is absurdly conformist. Like him, Lester’s neighbor Ricky (Wes Bentley) aims for a carefree existence, engaging curiosity at every turn; and finally, Ricky’s parents are like twisted parodies of the “American Dream family” — his father an uptight military man, his mother mute from years of subservience. British stage director Sam Mendes leaves an indelible impression with this silver screen debut, imbuing the intimate drama with a distinct and dazzling visual style (with, of course, a little help from master cinematographer Conrad Hall).
American Beauty (1999)
American Beauty (1999)
American Beauty (1999)
“It’s called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it” — George Carlin 1999’s “American Beauty” follows a man as he wakes up from this dream and fights to make it a reality. A suburbanite in the midst of a midlife crisis, his quest is one to which any moviegoer can relate — the search for magic within the mundane. Numbed by normalcy, Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey, in a definitive performance) aims to break free of monotony, quitting his job and working out in an attempt to impress his teenage daughter’s sexy friend. He embodies the inverse archetype of the American Dream in the sense that his vision of success is one without professional or domestic responsibility. But it’s ultimately the same dogged pursuit of happiness. The film follows several other suburbanites searching for different incarnations of the same ideal: Lester’s wife, Carolyn (Annette Bening), strives for success in a male-dominated profession; Jane (Thora Birch), his daughter, saves money for a breast augmentation while rebelling against the standards of beauty to which her blonde friend and aspiring model Angela (Mena Suvari) is absurdly conformist. Like him, Lester’s neighbor Ricky (Wes Bentley) aims for a carefree existence, engaging curiosity at every turn; and finally, Ricky’s parents are like twisted parodies of the “American Dream family” — his father an uptight military man, his mother mute from years of subservience. British stage director Sam Mendes leaves an indelible impression with this silver screen debut, imbuing the intimate drama with a distinct and dazzling visual style (with, of course, a little help from master cinematographer Conrad Hall).