I like the cheeky money that comes with writing reviews. I will try to return all r/r/c. Now also on...
I like the cheeky money that comes with writing reviews. I will try to return all r/r/c. Now also on Dooyoo. Re-writing my terrible older reviews, if you'd be kind enough to re-rate. Requiem For A Dream completed
Member since:10.01.2008
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American Beauty is a modern-day classic film, showing how restraining and boring suburban life in America can be, and how one man shows us how he breaks free.
Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) is stuck in a boring job under a boss he hates, has taken to masturbating in the shower because his wife, Carolyn (Annette Bening), isn't sexually relieving him, and he finds himself hated by his daughter. He becomes with his stale, repetitive existence.
Lester discovers that to become more free, he will pay the ultimate price. At the start of the film he tells us that in less than a year, he would be dead. The rest of the film shows the events leading up to Lester's death.
So on a whim, Lester decides to let go of everything in his life he despises, and starts to have fun again. He resigns from his job, and develops an unhealthy obsession with Angela (Mena Suvari), the 16-year old friend of his daughter Jane (Thora Birch).
When eavesdropping, he hears that Angela would consider him pretty good-looking if he toned up a bit, so he hits the weights in order to muscle up. He also starts smoking weed supplied by his new next door neighbor, the odd boy Ricky (Wes Bentley) who carries a video camera with him at all times.
In short, Lesley believes that becoming like he was as a teenager, and generally doing nothing beneficial, is the best way to liberate himself.
His wife Carolyn has a mid-life crisis of her own, of sorts. She is struggling in her real-estate business, and as she becomes more annoyed with Lester, she decides to play away from Lester with super-agent Ricky Kane (Peter Gallagher).
Jane is suffering too. She has feelings that her mum and dad are slipping away from each other, but feels they are slipping away from her too. And to make it worse, Ricky from next door has developed a bit of an obsession for her, which annoys her because he's such an odd child.
Ricky's militaristic ex-colonel father doesn't help matters either. He keeps Ricky under very close watch, and won't let him put a toe out of line. He holds many strong beliefs, particularly one condemning any act of homosexuality.
Somehow, despite his obsession with an underage-girl, and his constant lethargic attitude, we sympathize with Lester, who has been left with little other choice from his wife.
The circumstances of Lester's death remain an intruiging mystery, with twists and turns at every corner.
However, the best thing about this film is how it portrays everyone's idea about beauty. Lester feels beauty is being free, and not following the dull order of life. Carolyn sees beauty in success. Angela sees beauty in herself. Ricky sees beauty in random, ordinary things, like a dead bird, or a paper bag in the wind. These different concepts of beauty are what makes this film brilliant.
Kevin Spacey has the best role of his career in American Beauty. His measured, dull tones work perfectly with the character of Lester, and Spacey is the best man that could have been cast. There are also good performances from Annette Bening and Chris Cooper (as the colonel), but a stand-out performance comes from Wes Bentley as the perfect Ricky.
The directing from Sam Mendes was perfect, the meanings were delivered very well.
For anyone wanting to watch a deep film with hidden meanings and ideas, with a brilliant climatic ending, then American Beauty is perfect. Brilliant.
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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
Drama - Director: Chazz Palminteri - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring: Susan Sarandon, Penelope Cruz, Paul Walker, Alan Arkin, Marcus Thomas, Donna Hanover, Robin Williams
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
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
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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...
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![American Beauty [DVD] [2000]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78526734.jpg "American Beauty [DVD] [2000]")
Apr 24th, 2008
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