Review of American Beauty (1999) by Cameron J — 31 Mar 2014

"American beauty, stay away from me; American woman, mama, let me be!" Yeah, it was an obvious reference, so much so that the song was actually featured in the film, but I just had to, even though this film is indeed mighty American, or at least about as American as an Englishman can make a film like this. That's the thing; you have to give The Guess Who credit for emphasizing their being Canadian by actively referring to America as a distinctly foreign country, but here is Sam Mendes trying to paint a portrait on the true depths of the American middle class, and really, I don't know how much he knows about the American dream, because, come on, this film is about family dysfunction, sexual awkwardness, and the perversions of those in long-term marriages, and that's more like the American nightmare... or, rather, the American reality. Well, it's a little unusual, because as much as rose pedals were involved in Kevin Spacey's Lester Burnham characters' fantasies about some teen girl, I was expecting there to be a scene in which we find out what he's really attracted to when he walks through a rose garden and quickly takes a hose to himself to wash away the shame, yet other than that, Mendes really has never been one to beat around the bush, because this was his first of many a harsh drama. Now, I'm not saying that it was a relative success, but it did earn him, a newcomer, Best Director, while going on to sweep most of the rest of the Oscars and having an overwhelming pop culture impact as arguably one of the definitive films of the latter 1990s. I'd say it's no "Fight Club", because, come on, it's hard to think of anything that comes close to being "Fight Club", but while David Fincher was getting snubbed, his old buddy, Kevin Spacey, was getting showered with awards for this film, thus, I suppose the consensus is that Spacey made the better decision. I personally feel that that's bogus, but hey, that is certainly not to say that this film isn't good, because, boy, it sure does reward, even though it, like the American dream apparently, has its holes.

While certainly pretty meaty, this film's narrative might not exactly deserve its relatively whopping runtime of two hours, met largely through excess in, maybe not filler, but material that drags down a sense of progression, whose sense of momentum is itself dragged down by the material's often running together. Repetitious to the point of being aimless, this film doesn't exactly outstay its welcome, as it is consistently compelling, but patience is tried a good bit throughout a final product which suffers pretty heavily from questionable pacing. Of course, pacing is not the only aspect which suffers at the hands of inconsistency to narrative structure, because as pretty well-fleshed out as the many characters who drive this ensemble drama are, there are so many layers to cover here, and when the film focuses on one, the dragging leaves branches of the plot to stick around much too long for the eventual break into another branch to not jar. Well, at least each branch of the narrative keeps consistent in questionable traits, not just to structure, but to characterization, which is well-rounded and well-sold enough to endear, yet nonetheless has a tendency to paint the deliberate human flaws too thickly for you to be compelled by the unlikable, if still somehow engaging dirtbags who stand with this drama's full attention. The drama sometimes tries too hard to paint challenging characters, and that would be even easier to get past if it didn't try just as overtly hard at drawing the conflicts surrounding the characters, because no matter how compelling, this melodrama is not always as genuine as it ought to be, hitting histrionics which range from kind of off-putting to pretty distancing, quite frankly. The inspiration behind this film is certainly considerable, maybe even consistent, so much so that the missteps are relatively easily transcended enough to make the final product quite compelling through and through, but the challenges that Alan Ball's script establishes are also pretty consistent, as well as also pretty considerable, crafting an unevenly structured and sometimes melodramatically overblown affair that, while far from underwhelming, is set just as far from what it could have been, and perhaps would have been if the inspiration was not so met by the shortcomings. Regardless, the fact of the matter is that for every flaws fit for an underwhelming film, there is a strength fit for a near-outstanding film, something that is ultimately missed, but still seen in enough glimpses to reward, and even entertain, with the help of some musical color.

Ostensibly utilized to reflect themes on the distinctive breaking into the full form of life, this film's song soundtrack offers a dynamic array of classic tunes which range from traditional pop, to classical rock, to classical, and entertain by their own right, while complimenting the drama's tone, much like an original score by Thomas Newman that, while a little repetitious, has a minimal tastefulness to it that is both aesthetically lovely and tonally biting. Musical style is kind of unevenly used in this often quiet drama, but when it is played upon, it reinforces the weighty atmospheric resonance that is actually established through all the entrancing quietness, which could have dulled things down, but is actually utilized pretty effectively by Sam Mendes, whose tight style and plays on subtle wit reflect a realization to minimalist storytelling that is rarely seen so clearly in a first-time directorial performance, which, in this case, really sells the tonal depths portrayed in the drama's narrative. When material has color, Mendes' thoughtfulness establishes subtle entertainment value, so when material really beefs up, dramatically speaking, the thoughtfulness really moves, so when I say that the plot gradually thickens, I mean that the film gradually works its way towards its full potential, something that I really wish was met more on the whole, but is, as I said, prominent in enough places to compel, despite all of the questionable scripting. Alan Ball's overdrawn, unevenly focused and often dramatically overblown screenplay does an almost great injustice to the inspiration found in Mendes' direction, and yet, at the same time, Mendes' wouldn't have so much solid material to play with if Ball didn't have plenty of highlights to his scripting, whose clever dialogue makes the more humorous moments pretty sharp, and whose characterization, while often too thick with the unlikable aspects, is well-rounded enough to immerse you in the core of a character-driven narrative. I said way back in the beginning of this review that the story isn't exactly meaty enough to warrant a two-hour runtime, but not until now have I addressed the natural thinness to this dramatic narrative, as it is limited in this minimalist, but intriguing story about breaking through the grime of personal entrapment to find new life in all its soaring glory and overwhelming riskiness, brought to life by thoughtful direction and writing, and anchored by the performances. An intimate character study, this film, of course, thrives on the portrayals of its intriguing, if harshly drawn characters, whose unlikable traits cannot be full transcended without compelling acting, found pretty much across the board here, whether it be in the quietly unnerving Wes Bentley and Thora Birch, or the intense Chris Cooper, or the emotionally unstable Annette Bening, or leading man Kevin Spacey, who particularly stands out with his electrically charismatic and nuanced portrayal of a broken man rebuilding a life that actually draws deeper and deeper into danger. Inspired on and off the screen, both the direction and performances would hit harder if there was more meat to the material, of which there is still enough for the final product to overcome its considerable flaws and meet enough considerable strengths to reward pretty decidedly.

Overdrawn to the point of repetitious aimlessness, overblown to the point of focal unevenness, overly biting to the point of establishing unlikable moments to characterization, and even dramatically ambitious to the point of histrionics, the final product faces the risk of slipping into underwhelmingness, but on the backs of a solid song and original soundtrack, clever scripting, thoughtful direction and across-the-board strong performances, all behind a worthy story, Sam Mendes' "American Beauty" transcends its shortcomings as a fairly entertaining, consistently compelling, often powerful and all around rewarding portrait on the full beauty and grittiness of life.

3/5 - Good.