Sam Mendes' searing portrait of suburbia is a study in filmmaking. Every aspect of this film fires on all cylinders and comes together as a brave, heartbreaking saga of the lost connections between human beings. Alan Ball's superbly written screenplay truly gets at the heart of what it is to be a person in a sea of nothingness and to try to swim to shore in an attempt to regain some long lost humanity.
The person at sea in this film is Lester Burnham, played in a career performance by Kevin Spacey. Simply with the look on his face, he can speak volumes where words do not seem apt. He is a despicable character whom the audience can not help but like because, innately, we understand him. For all of his faults and insecurities, he is us, and we are with him on his search for a soul that has long since drifted away.
Matching Spacey point for point and blow for blow is Annette Bening, as Lester's workaholic wife, Carolyn, who tries so hard to keep up appearances that she herself can no longer see what is real and what is a facade. There is a magnificent scene a quarter of the way through the film where she repeats her mantra "I will sell this house today" while prepping the home for showings. She is earnest and strong until the final moments when she realizes that she has failed, and she completely falls apart. The mania and desperation she expresses is both frightening and devastating.
There are strong performances from every actor in the film, a fine supporting cast including Chris Cooper, Mena Suvari, Wes Bentley, and Thora Birch; however, the show is stolen by cinematographer Conrad Hall's beautiful tableaux. His use of light and shadow, of depth and color make the film a visual masterpiece, comparable with anything in a Peter Jackson sci-fi epic. Meticulously crafted and expertly shot, each image is a painting and each painting is a revelation.
On par with the likes of Schindler's List and Pulp Fiction, American Beauty stands as one of the finest films of the nineties. It is a bold statement on humanity and life, on beauty and truth, and on all of the things that we take for granted. The film's tag line, "look closer", is a summation of theme, but it is most assuredly a profoundly ardent suggestion on how we should live our lives and interact with those around us.
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