American Beauty *SPOILERS*
I have been looking for this film on the net for ages, and I found it a couple of hours ago. What I have seen in those two hours blew me away.
First off, this isn't a groundbreaking film. I wasn't shocked by anything I saw (maybe slightly caught off guard, if anything), I wasn't dazzled by anything this film had to offer, and the way I view films hasn't been changed. But I was impressed by every facet of this film.
The script was the best part. Somehow, it managed to bring humor to a truly tragic situation. The hilarious moments were spread around evenly among the characters, but the majority came from Kevin Spacey's Lester Burnham, one of my new favorite characters of cinema. The relatability, the sweetness, the love for life he had was palpable. He was the catalyst that set the movie alight, and personifies the brazen, balls-out attitude this film repeatedly took.
"And your mother seems to prefer that I go through life like a f***ing prisoner while she keeps my dick in a mason jar under the sink."
Yes, this film is not for everyone. The story has been done before (suburban-dweller goes through a mid-life crisis), but never has a film been this open about, well, everything. The guy masturbates twice, he has a crush on a teenage girl who he comes
this close to having sex with, and that kind of sums the film up: it's all about the primal urges, the things that get shoved under by society. Lester was fitter, happier, and more productive, but just got tired of it.
There are a few unfortunate stereotypes in this film, but it manages to dodge that bullet by simply taking the characters as far as they can go, and not playing it safe. Nobody gets off the hook, and everyone is mocked repeatedly. The girl who hates her looks and wants breast augmentation actually happens to far nicer breasts than her (supposedly) promiscuous friend, who happens to have been a virgin all along. The homophobic marine happens to be gay. And so on.
Did I mention the directing? Yeah, it wasn't bad. Just one more highlight in a film that's already stacked with greatness.
So yeah, I'm pretty much in love with the film. Anyone that disagrees can shut up and go watch it again, because they clearly didn't get it the first time.
10/10