American Beauty

              The film American Beauty, directed by Sam Mendes, receives its name from a type of rose called the American Beauty. American Beauty roses are brightly colored, and considered beautiful to look at, but they have a tendency to rot from their roots. Thus, the film's tagline "Look Closer"urges the viewer to take a closer look at the lives of the characters to see something beneath the appearances they give off.

I spent a lot of time "looking closer" at this scene

              The film's plot largely revolves around Lester Burnham, a father of one with a wife who doesn't care about him, and a job he hates, trying to have sexual relations with a 17 year old girl named Angela Hayes. Angela is a girl who constantly bickers about all the guys she gets, and appears to be the stereotypical popular yet slutty American girl, who does as she pleases, and gets her way by sleeping around. In the films final act, we find out that she is really a virgin, and lied about all the guys she'd been with to get attention.

              Angela is a foil for the character of Jane, Lester's daughter. Jane is a conservative girl, unhappy with herself like most teenagers, who wants to get a boob job so she can better conform to what she believes to be society's expectations of beauty.

"I AM The American Beauty"- real quote, I swear.

            The audience is led to believe that Angela is the beautiful girl and Jane is the plain one, but as the film goes on and Jane meets Ricky, that perception changes. Throughout the film, as Jane gains more self confidence, and Angela starts to perceive herself for the way she really is, Jane starts wearing less makeup, whereas Angela starts wearing a lot more. This direction is subtle, and it's hard to notice unless you skip straight from the beginning of the film to it's end, but it is a noticeable and effective use of directing on Sam Mendes's behalf.

OOH SNAP GONNA NEED SOME ICE FOR THAT BURN

        Another character in the film who isn't as they appear to be in Ricky's dad, Colonel Frank Fitts. Throughout the film, he makes many remarks about how much he dislikes, and doesn't approve of homosexuality, even going as far as to beat his son because he believes he is gay. However, when Ricky speaks out against homosexuality, Frank shells up.

         The reason for this being, SPOILERS: Bruce Willis was dead the whole time  Frank Fitts was repressing his own homosexuality.

With a fighting stance like that, they should have known.

           Despite everything he said against it, Frank Fitts was the thing he seemed to hate the most. The reveal of this unfolds dramatically, as Frank and Lester are alone in the garage, and Frank kisses Lester believing him to be gay as well. In film, the color red is often used as an association for sexual desire or power. In the context of this scene, it represents Frank's desire to come out, and to finally have someone of his own. When we first see him, the entire scene is dark except for Lester's shiny new red Firebird in the driveway, drawing the audience's focus more towards the car than to Frank himself. This emphasizes the power of the color in the scene, and is another example of Sam Mendes's directing working towards the film's tone.

Pictured: Lester's Firebird.

          Overall, the film is an excellent example of a narrative film, and the concept of "looking closer" works well towards the films overall tone and feel, and allows plenty of room for audience interpretation of the piece. The film is also full of kookiness along the way! 

        I give this film 8/10 Dogbones, go watch it.


~CITATIONS~

Photos:

Lester Masturbating. Digital image. A2review. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2014. <http://www.a2review.net/2013/03/25/american-beauty/>.

Jane from American Beauty. Digital image. Pyxurz. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2014. <http://pyxurz.blogspot.com/2011/11/american-beauty-page-4-of-7.html>.

Mena Suvari ugly. Digital image. Panda Whale. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2014. <http://pandawhale.com/post/30360/mena-suvari-american-beauty-gif>.

Frank fighting. Digital image. Mimetic Margins. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2014. <http://erikbuys.wordpress.com/2013/09/30/philosophy-in-american-beauty/>.

Pontiac Firebird. Digital image. Dreams Time. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2014. <http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-illustration-cartoon-phoenix-dancing-happy-smiling-image41818114>.