American Beauty (1999)

An American Beauty is a form of rose and is prone to rot under the surface while its petals stay pristine. The movie, American Beauty, begins by asking the viewer to take a "normal" American family and look closer. As we peer into the life of Lester, an average family man, we begin to notice the unhappiness that resides underneath the surface of his life.

To start, Kevin Spacey is phenomenal in this role as his body language exemplifies his inner thoughts. He begins the movie with his back slouched and everything he does seems defeated. The cinematography also reflects this as one of the earlier scenes where Lester is talking to his boss is shot in a way that makes him look small.

The cinematography is clever as it employs several different camera techniques to hint to the viewer what the underlying message is. For example, the movie begins and ends the same way with the camera zooming into Lester's neighborhood and then by the end zooming out. This highlights the theme that you can take any "ordinary" neighborhood, look closer, and find that things are not "ordinary" at all.

The theme of what is considered ordinary is tossed around a lot, as Mena Suvari's character, Angela, states that there is nothing worse than being ordinary. Yet Caroline, Lester's wife, is obsessed with making her life appear normal as she states constantly that in order to be successful one must project an image success at all times.

Roses are a central motif of the movie. This rose is seen whenever Lester dreams about Angela and symbolizes his desire and lust for Angela. The rose represents a superficial beauty as a rose is incredibly common despite its price. The flower represents a form of empty extravagance as it appears when Carolyn is tending to them in the garden or whenever Lester is lusting over Angela. These characters are the same as the flower, empty. Roses never appear around Jane and Ricky as both characters are their authentic selves and they aren't trying to pretend to be someone they aren't.

Jane and Ricky don't find beauty in what is superficial and extravagant but in the ordinary like the scene with the plastic bag blowing in the wind. The scene is strangely beautiful as the bag whirls around in circles. It is the simple things in life that are important and as Lester says to Carolyne, "This isn't life, it's just stuff. And it's become more important to you than living. Well, honey, that's just nuts". I give this movie an 8 out of 10.
- GL

8 / 10


(Above) My favorite movie shot:


(Above) My runners-up:





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