Review of American Beauty (1999) by Joe C — 04 Jan 2015

"Look Closer.." may just be the best tagline ever. Sam Mendes' first film is an intricate, brilliantly acted dissection of a dysfunctional suburbia. Screenwriter Alan Ball, sick of an unnourishing career as a TV writer, poured his passion and sarcasm into a spec script about a depressed man in mid-life crisis who decides to change his life for the better after losing his job.

The end result was a startlingly incisive view of the American dream hitting meltdown that showcases such range that the tone refused to be pigeonholed. It's acid wit and jabs and materialism spoke to a late 90's audience that had become wise to the emptiness of commercialism, while Mendes' low key directing, Thomas Newman's, snappy score, and Tariq Anwar's calculated editing all coalesce brilliantly, delivering a feeling of suspense that progressively builds up to the shattering conclusion.

Both comedic and tragic, both bold and subtle, American Beauty bounded critics and audiences in mutual respect, and would've been the fourth film to sweep the "Big 5" Academy Awards if Hillary Swank couldn't play a man so convincingly.