#72 American Beauty

In Summary

American Beauty is a film about the various forms of existential crises that we suffer during our lifetimes. From that teenage awkwardness to a full-blown mid-life crisis, almost every character in their film is unhappy with their lot in life and is desperate for change.

Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) is dead to begin with. The film is Lester's recollection of the final year of his life. It is a year in which he quits a decent job at a magazine to become a cook at a fast-food restaurant, yet it is the happiest of his life.

Lester has been living the typical unfulfilled American suburban life. He has accumulated a respectable job, a respectable house, a respectable wife, and a respectable daughter, yet it hasn't brought him happiness. His isn't respected at work or at home, his wife and daughter are distant to him. It is a chance meeting with his daughter's best friend, Angela Hayes, that sparks his desire for change.

What his motivation is pathetic, his fulfilment is pure. Lester builds his life around what he wants rather than what others expect of him. While it his little impact on his relationship with his wife and daughter, he finds a form of happiness.

With the exception of the neighbour boy, Ricky Fitts - who has already seemingly achieved self-actualisation - the other characters in the film pursue a similar journey to Lester. His daughter, Jane, is insecure about her looks but finds in Ricky someone who sees her beauty. Lester's wife, Carolyn, finds a truer paramore in her fellow estate agent, Buddy Kane, with whom she pursues an affair with.

It is a path that leads the family on a collision course with one another, as if one suburban roof cannot contain such fulfilment, which leads to the events of the fateful night upon which Lester Burnham is murdered.

A Memorable Quote

It's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world.

Things You May Not Know

• Writer, Alan Ball, was inspired to write the film after observing a plastic bag floating in the air from the World Trade Centre.
• Along with The Silence of the Lambs, American Beauty is the only 90s Best Picture Oscar winner not to be a period piece.
• Jake Gyllenhaal and Seth Green auditioned for the part of Ricky Fitts, 

One of the Greatest of All Time?
American Beauty managest to combine the beautiful with the tawdry in a breathtaking manner. It is a film with a lot to say that manages to convey it in an efficient and effective manner. It is a film that people don't seem to talk about that much these days but is incredibly powerful and moving.

This film snuck up on me a little bit, but may possibly go down as one of my personal favourites.