"American Beauty" is deeply disturbing, acerbically funny, brilliantly acted, breathtakingly original and highly sophisticated. In other words, it is not your typical high-concept Hollywood film, and some feel it might be a hard sell with mainstream audiences. Kevin Spacey gives an Oscar-caliber performance as Lester Burnham, a man only going through the motions of living. At heart, he is lost and searching for meaning in his well-appointed but empty life. Annette Bening may also be considered for Oscar for her portrayal as his brittle wife Carolyn. She is a woman who just skims the surface of life, preferring a thin facade to introspection.
Their daughter Jane, played with mature confidence by Thora Birch, is emotionally removed from them and is just serving time until she can escape the confines of her homelife. Mena Suvari gives a smoldering performance as Angela Hayes, Jane's best friend. Angela is a Lolita-in-waiting and sets her sights on Lester, a sitting duck for a domestic disaster. The strange boy next door enters the picture. Ricky Fitts, played by Wes Bentley, is a troubled soul who pines for Jane and is befriended by her increasingly unstable father, Lester. Fitts has an annoying habit of videotaping everyone around him and his footage, which is used as a counterpoint to the story is artfully intercut as part of the film.
Ricky's father, Col. Fitts, is played by Chris Cooper. He is a recently retired Marine with a twisted sense of how to raise and discipline his son. Ricky's mother, played by Allison Janney, is just an emotional shell. She is incapable of doing anything more than just sitting by and watching while her family falls apart. In short order, Lester leaves his boring job after blackmailing his boss, and Carolyn
has a brief affair with a fellow real-estate broker played by Peter Gallagher. All hell breaks lose in both families as carefully constructed illusions about their lives fall apart.
Thought-provoking and scathingly funny, "American Beauty" is the motion-picture debut of two brilliant new talents, and the confirmation of the gifts of two others. American screenwriter Alan Ball and British director Sam Mendes - both from the theater - introduce their skills to cinema in this tightly wrought and multi-layered film. And once again, Bening and Spacey prove themselves to be two of the our strongest actors. Ball, who also serves as a co-producer on this film, has roots not only in theater, but also in television. "American Beauty" is one of the best films released so far this year.
