It's one thing to not like a film such as "American Beauty" because you enjoy more car chases and more explosions. It's quite another to deem a film as a pile of poo when clouded by one's own personal views of "morality". It tends to blind sight a film viewer from understanding the actual "moral" of the story. Despite some glaringly misguided and erroneous perceptions of "American Beauty" by some on this site, this film is a masterpiece in performance, cinematography and screenwriting. The storyline has been well documented here, so I will delve into other concepts this film. (Warning: Spoilers)
Lester Burnham said that he "felt like he was in a coma for the last 20 years and just woke up" after laying eyes on the luscious Angela Hayes. In fact, he awoke into another dream, dwelling in fantasies, reliving a rebellious youth, quitting his job, smoking joints and pumping iron as his fantasies of the rose pedaled Angela drives him. (And don't count out the meaning of those roses - they turn up everywhere). When he faces the realization of his fantasy by starting his seduction, he discovers that the dirty, naughty Angela is a frightened child, no different than his own Jane. He has now - finally - awoken from that coma. Just as he begins to conceive his blessings, tragedy steals them from him. In death, he sees the truth in his life: his lovely daughter Jane, his wonderful house and the memory of his carefree, happy wife laughing on an amusement park ride. In two gunshots Lester drifts in an afterlife limbo - viewing the world in which he once lived as the most sensuous, beauty he ever set eyes on. Just like Ricky Fitts (the only character who relished beauty in the world with a poetic longing) sees it in a plastic bag, dancing with the wind.
"American Beauty" is not a film about homosexuality. It is not a movie about morals. It is not a film about stereotyping military men, nor is it about pedophilia. This film is a look into the concept of the American Dream, and how it might not be what it seems. We fall into ruts. We have mid-life crises. Husbands and wives move in other directions and find contempt for each other. Teenagers can be moody and hate their parents, because 1) they are too self absorbed to notice them, or 2) they don't know how to communicate with them. People step out of bounds to move up in a career. Beauty queens are hiding more innocence than one would suspect. Some others live in a hypocritical world, hiding what they are, staying tightly wound, perceiving others to be what they are not, and spewing hatred over things that aren't true. In a nutshell, everyone in this movie is trying to be something they are not. In doing so, they are missing out on the blessings on what they already have, and the humans they are meant to be.
What stuck me most about "American Beauty" is not only the story we're experiencing on screen, but the story we won't see: the aftermath of Lester Burnham's demise. Who will be blamed for Lester's death? Will Carolyn? Ricky? Jane? Frank Fitts? What about Carolyn and the devastation over the loss of the husband whom she let slip through her fingers in moments of anger, neglect and put downs? What wreckage will be left in this family? How will they live with the memory of having given such careless thought to the life they once had and will never have again?
The Oscars this film has garnered speaks for itself. So, before one gripes about homosexual stereotypes and morality in this film, think about what you are not seeing. Put aside your political agenda, and look beyond what you find ugly or wrong and render the universal meaning of this film. The unsavory facets of a story are devices to make you THINK - no matter how offensive. That's what storytelling and film are about. Much like Captain Frank Fitts, you might dwell in misconceived notions that veer off the path of truth, thus missing out on the beauty of the story entirely. If you don't like it, Disney films are a good alternative.
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