Review of American Beauty (1999) by Alexei G — 24 Nov 2013

I wasn't expecting the film to not bore the heck out of me. It's a film that gets darker and more psychological every minute, until the chilling scene of the death of one of the three characters you're gonna relate to.

If this is a deconstruction of the suburban ideal, then that makes it just more beautiful, such that I wish I could drink myself silly until I end up seeing the universe unravel its gaping eye at me. It's also a film that lulls you into perceptions of some characters before convincing you to change them.

For instance, Angela is pretty and beautiful, and this will lull you into liking her, but eventually you see she's doesn't care about her friend and is focused primarily on just being "normal".

And Ricky seems like a psycho, even a dangerous person, but then you get close, and you realize you can sympathize with him, for the same reasons you would sympathize with Jane. Because both are "freaks", both are different, both are lonely.

And loneliness is only one of the two major themes in this piece. The other is most likely suburban life, which is so beautiful to see come to dissolution. And the darkness and depth of the film blossom like a flower.

Oh, and I really enjoy Kevin Spacey's acting, which served as a nice element of the film.