ROLL M: American Beauty |
American Beauty (starring Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, Mena Suvari,Peter Gallagher; written by Alan Ball; directed by Sam Mendes; rated R for strong sexuality, language, violence, drug content).
The slugline in the advertising copy for American Beauty reads, "When you’ve got nothing to lose, you might as well risk everything." This is the premise for a wildly funny yet sensitive black comedy in which Kevin Spacey shines as an "everyman" undergoing a midlife crisis, racing to turn back the clock and take back his youth. Eventually, he manages to alienate everyone around him in his dysfunctional family as well as his wacko neighborhood.
Opening narration puts one in mind of Sunset Boulevard – you know he’s gonna die because he tells you up front. But as the film unfolds, you begin to wonder who will "done it," since just about everyone in this cast of oddball characters has a motive that could lead to Spacey’s demise. (And without spoiling the ending, there is a last-minute twist that few would have guessed.)
Not only is American Beauty a deliciously dark comedy, it is also an excellent character-driven drama, with outstanding performances by Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch (as young daughter Jane) and Mena Suvari as the teen temptress who jump-starts Spacey’s libido. First-time film director Sam Mendes (best know for his theatrical direction of "The Blue Room") and television writer Alan Ball ("Grace Under Fire," "Cybill"), also turning to the screen for the first time, have managed to pull off a winner. Both should have healthy careers in film, with American Beauty almost certainly headed for cinema success.
FOUR AND A HALF OUT OF FIVE OWLS