...look closer.
American Beauty takes us on a journey through life in suburban America. The film follows the trials and tribulations of Lester (Kevin Spacey) and Carolyn (Annette Bening), an upper-middle class couple whose marriage--and lives--are slowly unraveling. Lester's wife hates him, his daughter Jane regards him with contempt, and his boss is positioning him for the ax. So Lester decides to make a few changes in his life; the freer he gets, the happier he gets, which is even more maddening to his wife and daughter. But Lester is about to learn that the ultimate freedom comes at the ultimate price.
This film marks the feature film directorial debut of award-winning theater director Sam Mendes (The Blue Room, Cabaret). You would not have guessed it though, Mendes works wonders here, with a phenomenal script and very talented cast.
American Beauty is a dark comedy about the banality of suburban life. Or what appears to be suburban life. The film constantly challenges us to look closer, take a closer look. This perfect suburban family is far from perfect. Like the former Mayor Dinkins said of our city, we are a beautiful mosaic. True. From a distance it seems beautiful, as does Lester's life in the film, but when you look closer, you see the cracks and imperfections, as you see the differences in the mosaic.
American Beauty shows us that this perfect suburban life is flawed, but eventhough some seemingly perfect things are flawed, there is still beauty to be found. The images that are seen through Ricky's (Wes Bently) video camera show us that beauty still exists, and it exists in the more simple things in life.
American Beauty one five Academy Awards in 1999 and justifiably so. It is an intelligent film, made from an intelligent script, acted by intelligent actors by an intelligent director.
This dvd is both Dolby 5.1 and DTS and is presented in Anamorphic widescreen. On the dvd we are given a behind the scenes documentary. Also, we are treated to a commentary by the director, Sam Mendes and Writer, Alan Ball. I was disappointed to find out that the much-talked about deleted scenes (which were primarily bookends to the movie) were not included on the disc, though they are talked about it would have been nice to see them.
Features Cast & Crew Bios Commentary With Sam Mendes and Alan Ball English 5.1 Surround Dolby Digital English Dolby Digital Surround English DTS 5.1 Surround Sound Enhanced For 16X9 TV Interactive Menus Production Notes Scene Access Storyboard Feature With Commentary By Sam Mendes and Cinematographer Conrad L. Hall The Making Of American Beauty Featurette Theatrical Trailer
C's Final Word - PROPER!
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