Review of American Beauty (1999) by Adam P — 18 Sep 2014

What is beauty? The film 'American Beauty' can be used a definition of the word.

In all aspects, 'American Beauty' succeeds and sometimes, it even excels. It is a film that I could, and definitely would view over and over again for its themes and messages.

What is 'American Beauty'? It's a film that won Best Picture in both the Academy and Golden Globes Awards shows. While this may seem like no more than a small honor, one must put in account how many people voted for Best Picture. A lot of people voted for Best Picture, and they picked American Beauty as the winner. A lot of people loved the film, me included. And it's understandable. The film is gold. Good to teach in film schools and for people who enjoy more than an endless action film. People who want a sophisticated indie film.

'American Beauty' features beautiful cinematography and solid script work with sharp character writing. By the end of the film, I felt I could relate to each and every character in atleast one way. When the film reached its climax and started wrapping up its character's stories you were attached to the characters, felt as if you knew them. As if they were you. That's what solid scripting is. Great character development. An attribute that is misplaced often in film and it makes me cringe.

To further my enjoyment of the film was a talented handful of well chosen actors including the likes of Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, Mena Suvari, and Chris Cooper. All very talented actors, all fit for their respective roles. Spacey in particular exposes Lester Burnham's boredom with his life, and Bening showcases her character's stress and desires. Bentley is fairly off putting (in a good way) as the creepy yet misunderstood next door neighbor. And finally Suvari showcases the beauty, particularly in Lester's fantasy sequences (Which were visually pleasant to the eyes).

Director, Sam Mendes perfectly captures the themes that 'American Beaut' presents. He uses colors to represent different symbols, like red in particular.

The color red drives Lester's story and the overall film itself. The red rose is the symbol for beauty and desire and love. And Mendes b\perfectly captures its meaning as well as many others on film.

All and All, 'American Beauty' is a beautiful film with an excellent script with well developed characters, solid themes of Conformity and Beauty, Imprisonment, and Redemption, and Sexuality and Repression. It features awards worthy performances and beautiful cinematography and visuals. 'American Beauty' may very well be one of the best film's I've ever seen in my life. A 8/5/14.

'American Beauty' is rated R for strong sexuality, language, violence, and drug use. It's appropriate for 16 (Depending on the child) and up. It's a pretty hard R, but parents should consider vetoing the rating and letting their older teenagers to see the film, as it supports very strong messages.

I originally didn't plan on reviewing the film, after viewing it days ago, but the film stuck in my head for so long, that I felt I had to express my deep admiration for it on paper. You could call this review a love letter.