American Beauty was one of those movies that I never got round to seeing at the cinema. I recently saw it on DVD and was mightily impressed. I had not really spent too much time looking into what it was about so it came as a very pleasant suprise.
Briefly the story is set in modern day America and centres around family in crisis, Kevin Spacey plays the middle-aged father (Lester Burnham) who lusts after his teenage daughter's best friend (Angela) played by Mena Suvari. Spacey's wife (Carolyn) played by Annette Bening has brief affair with a business rival, while their daughter (Jane) played by Thora Birch is disgusted by them both and seeks comfort from the boy-next-door (Ricky Fitts) played by Wes Bentley.
There were many things about American Beauty that I particularly liked. The first has to be the performance by Kevin Spacey. What a fantastic actor. He revelled in the role and for me the success of the film hinged on this performance. The timing and delivery of the 'funny bits' always spot on. Take nothing away from the other actors but Spacey stood head and shoulders above them all.
Second was the way the film was directed and filmed. Without being openly graphical it exuded a sensual side that was slightly erotic. This in sharp contrast to what some might have been expecting with plenty of flesh and sex scenes. It is the underlying sexual current that keeps you riveted to your seat. Although the object of Lester Burnham's desire is a teenager, to which some people may feel the need to take the moral high ground, everything was tasteful and the writer (Alan Ball) and director (Sam Mendes) take away alot of credit for keeping such high standards and not allowing the film to de-generate.
There are several excellent scenes when Spacey is fantasising about his daughters best friend which tie in subtly links between his feelings for his wife and the teenager.
The film ends well and comes as a bit of a shock even though we are more or less told what is going to happen right at the begining of the movie, but I found myself enjoying it so much that I clean forgot.
In the end you can't help feeling happy for Lester Burnham.
The region 2 DVD contains a commentary from Mendes and a storyboard comparison section where each main scene of the movie is discussed in detail. This mentions scenes that were cut from the movie but unfortunately they are not included on the disc.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2007 - Drama - Director: Mike Binder - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle, Jada Pinkett, Liv Tyler, Saffron Burrows, Donald Sutherland, Mike Binder
Production Year: 1998 - Drama - Director: Carl Franklyn, Carl Franklin - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Meryl Streep, William Hurt, Renee Zellweger, Tom Everett Scott, Nicky Katt, Lauren Graham
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
u didn't mentioned anything about the dvd itself? it would be good if you can concentrate on this part as well since u put this op under the films on DVD section. cheers!
From its first gliding aerial shot of a generic suburban street,American Beautymoves with ... more
a mesmerising confidence and acuity epitomised by Kevin Spacey's calm narration. Spacey is Lester Burnham, a harried Everyman whose midlife awakening is the spine...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Look closer at the most talked about film of the year. A funny, moving and shocking ... more
journey through life in suburban America.Look closer at fortysomething ad man Lester Burnham and his status-seeking wife, Carolyn, as their marriage and lives slowly un...
From its first gliding aerial shot of a generic suburban street,American Beautymoves with ... more
a mesmerising confidence and acuity epitomised by Kevin Spacey's calm narration. Spacey is Lester Burnham, a harried Everyman whose midlife awakening is the spine...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Marking the feature film directorial debut of award-winning theatre director Sam Mendes ... more
this funny moving and shocking journey through life in suburban America follows the trials and tribulations of Lester (Kevin Spacey) and Carolyn (Annette Bening) ...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
![American Beauty [DVD] [2000]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78526734.jpg "American Beauty [DVD] [2000]")
Feb 8th, 2001
very helpful by (50%):
helpful by (50%):
