Bulletin Board:
FASCINATING CHARACTER STUDY
Subject: Another observation?
Date: Sat, 22 Apr 2000
From: The Butson Family
This movie struck me in several interesting ways. As a character study, its fascinating. As characters, they're pretty sad. Yet, each of them is a study in character and character flaw. Les (Less?) is a lecherous, self absorbed idiot until he has the opportunity to make the last pathetic jump into...idiocy?...then he realizes he can't do it. The next scene is he and Angela sitting in the kitchen having a very appropriate dad and daughter's-best-friend moment. Ricky deals drugs yet sees beauty in everyday things (a sentiment I share!). Carolyn and "The King" consumate their relationship, but in the end she puts down the gun and seems to be coming home to confront the tough issues there. The Colonel is a tough, disciplined and abusive figure, and yet you see him struggling with wanting yet not knowing how to love and deal with his son. He'd put him in a facility to help him deal with his drug use...a loving step, I believe. And, as a healthy American male, may I point out that Jane plays the "ugly duckling" so to speak to her friend Angela who's planning a modeling career, yet what we see in the voyeuristic scenes into her bedroom is a young woman who is much more a classic beauty than Angela is. I'm a degreed engineer who many years ago took a film class as one of the few electives I could take outside my major. I have so appreciated the things that class taught me, probably more so than any of my engineering classes taught me. I've learned to appreciate film as storytelling...and you don't necessarily have to like the story to appreciate good storytelling, which this movie is. As a Christian, I'm sure some of my brothers and sisters would hearken thunderbolts down on me for seeing this. This movie is not for everyone by any means. But what an interesting example of people struggling in life and trying to find answers. LOVE THE SITE!!!!
EXTREMELY PROFOUND
Subject: reaction to your spiritual analysis
Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2000
From: -ilana kanoff
Reading your depiction of "American Beauty" brought the movie up to a whole other level. I found this web page while searching for material for a paper i am writing and i was completely blown away. Your spiritual analysis is extremely profound and very real. I just wanted to give you some feedback.
-ilana kanoff
p.s. please do not post this e-mail address
AMERICAN BEAUTY IS HJ BEAUTY
Subject: General Comments
Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2000
From: Joe
First, I wanted to comment on David Bruces' comments and web lay out for the movie "American Beauty". I like the way you intersperse images of the movie through out the running commentary. I also like the way you think in so far that you see VALUE/ BEAUTY in looking behind the story per say. The average critic or movie comments typically only center on the story itself (ie. structure, originality, character believe ability etc...) You tease out some interesting correlations with true life from the film and in doing so you amalgamate fiction and reality, which, can only enrich them both. I like how you include other peoples thoughts on the movie even if you may not necessarity agree at the moment with them. It simply makes your site that much more compelling to view. I have so much more to say but will let my ramblings rest. Peace and understanding. Joe
Response: Thank you for those kind words. -David
STUNNING FILM
Subject: Great movie!
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2000
From: Chris
This is simply one of the most stunning films made in the last several years. Directing and cinematography is gorgeous and impeccable. Some scenes, such as when Jane is filming Ricky and we see his responses framed as a real person, a camera viewfinder and a television, gave me shivers. The film has been called many things, from an analysis of suburban life to a religious allegory, but it's actual content is simple. It's about beauty. And it's about those who are unable to appreciate beauty. In the eyes of Ricky, almost everything is beautiful. It's interesting to note that the only two characters who we never see filmed by Ricky are his father and Carolyn. He was unable to find the beauty there. He found no beauty in the extremely sexually attractive cheerleader, and ignored her prancing her body in front of him to focus on the small, beautiful smile on Jane's face. This film is about appreciation of beauty. Appreciating the simple beauty that is all around you. It's also about society's perception of it. No film strikes home to the cliche of "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" than this film. To Lester, Angela expressed perfect beauty. In her, he saw the lost innocence of his youth. To Ricky, she is ugly. He sees a girl who is using others to feel better about herself. Both are correct. And when Angela, who I despised through much of the movie, is revealed, she became one of the most touching and sympathetic characters. There is so much beauty in the world, sometimes it feels like you just can't take it. And when Ricky's father finally allowed himself to acknowledge HIS perception of beauty - Lester - he wasn't able to take it. And so he destroyed the only thing he ever found beautiful, albiet briefly. Because simply, he had been trained to revile that beauty his entire life. This movie was not uplifting, but neither did I find it depressing. It was real. When Lester is killed, we feel no pity for him. He was "great". He had embraced the beauty of the world, and he died in a moment of perfect happiness. When his wife expresses her grief, I felt little pity for her, as had she perhaps opened up her life to him for a moment, he would be alive and with her, as it's unlikely Ricky would have been coming over and puffing on a joint with him. Jane and Ricky we feel hopeful for, as they are going to find a new life. We are left feeling horrible for two people. Ricky's father, who was so incapable of accepting the beauty in the world around him he tried kill it. As Ricky said, he is a sad, pitable person. And Angela, who, after finally opening up and revealing the beauty that was hiding inside her, is cursed to see the catalyst for that lying in a pool of blood mere moments later. The strongest point to be expressed is this: beauty and happiness is in the world, but you have to find it, you can't construct it. A $2000 couch isn't beautiful, it's just a couch. Selling a home will not make you happy. Having a well-paying job will not make you happy. People talk on and on about the symbolism of the roses. Yet their symbolism was simple. Sometimes, you just have to stop and smell the roses.
Ressponse: A rose is not just a rose, right? -David
WE ARE ALL SCARED
Subject: Powerful is the word !!!
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2000
From: "Lazy Boy"
Before I saw this film, I was a little racist. But this movie, taught me something... We are all scared, and strike first before someone else strike first... All the pre-jugement we see in this movies is true. After I saw this movie, I was changed, I didn't look other races like I did before. I didn't try to lower them, but to understand them... But it taught me something else... racism is a big problem and it will be forever, do not try to stop racism because it take a revolution to stop it, ans revolation= more violence=more problem, but try to lower the density of this problem... I don't think that one day, racism will be over... but we can help to reduce it... problems
ROSE PEDALS
Subject: American_Beauty rose petals
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2000
From: Erik Williams
i read one of the commments questioning the validity of the rose petals. I believe Lester's fatuation with the rose petals existed because roses were the thing in which his embittered wife took such pleasure in. His fantasy/thought life involved the thing that would hurt his wife the most. just a thought...
erik williams
Response: I had not thought of this, interesting. -David.
ANOTHER POINT OF VIEW
Subject: American_Beauty another point of view, and some questions
Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2000
From: wolske
OK, this may be a stretch, but I just saw American Beauty this week for the second time (the first time was when it first same out last fall). I'm brand new to your site - interesting perspectives and good discussion. The character that I most had a problem with after each time I saw it was Ricky. I'm surprised that some of the other writers here thought that he was the most 'human' of all the characters. I might suggest that he was the most 'human'/worldly, but in the worst possible way. If you haven't seen the film, you might not want to read on (possible spoilers)... Ricky makes a conscious decision to lie to his father about the nature of his relationship with Lester. Only the night before Jane suggested that Ricky kill her father (I know, she tells him that she's only kidding, but it almost seems like Ricky's only reality is what he sees through the lens of his camera - another comment on media-saturated society?) Anyhow, there is a look of realization on his face when he starts to lie to his father about the acts Lester made him perform. He fully intended to work his father into a rage that would cause him to kill Lester. And when Ricky leans over Lesters dead body, a perverse smile comes over his face. So here's my theory - Ricky is really Evil/Satan/ (whatever you want to call it). When he says he is overwhelmed by the beauty in the world (ie. plastic bag in the wind) it's because the beauty is an act of God, but he's overwhelmed because he (Satan) cannot create anything beautiful. Only God can create beauty/good, and Ricky is powerless to it. I'm assuming that God and the Devil are not on speaking terms, and when Ricky says he sees God in death (homeless person, bird, Lester's eyes) it's the Devil getting a glimpse of God and flipping him off - his perverse smirk into Lester's lifeless eyes kind of says "Ha Ha, here's another one of your beautiful creations that I've destroyed". Hopefully for the rest of us it can be a lesson to see the beauty of God in the world, I won't argue with that. But I think Ricky is a much darker character than some of the other reviews here contend. On the other hand, I don't think Lester was as bad as some people made him out to be. He genuinely tried to reach out to Jane early in the movie, and tried to reach out to his wife (on the couch, before she freaked out over the $2000 sofa). He came to his senses with Angela (albeit just in time). I still don't understand why Angela lied to him about how Jane was (said she was fine when she was running away with the devil) when her character seemed to have come clean of so many of the lies that made up her life. And what was the deal with Carolyn and the 'I will not be a victim' tapes/mantra? Was she ever a victim? Lester may have been a victim of his job and of Carolyn; Jane may have been a victim of distant parents and teen angst; Angela a victim of societal pressures/expectations. Maybe the writer/director wanted Carolyn to be a victim of society, but I couldn't feel for her at all - in fact the second time I saw the film I could barely stand to watch her at all. Like nails on a chalkboard... I think Carolyn's 'victim' mantra was actually a prediction - with Lester murdered and Jane gone, she can't keep up the illusion of her 'perfect' life and will be a victim of these cruel, random events. I still can't feel bad for her... As or Ricky, the only redeeming thing that he did was after he smiled at Lester he gasped, 'Mother!', showing real concern for what his father might do back at his house. Can't wait for it to come out on DVD, so I can give it another shot. See this movie, think about it, talk about it. Great site, keep up the good work.
wolske
Response: Welcome a board! I like the way you look for the little details. I do not agree with the Risky/Satan connection. Ricky seems to me to be the only "real" human in the picture. I will be interested in your thoughts after you analyze the DVD. -David.
AMERICAN BEAUTY IS EXCELLENT BECAUSE...
Subject: American Beauty Excellent Movie
Date: Sun, 12 Mar 2000
From: Stephen
I thought the movie was great, and thought I should make a few comments in response to the comments, for the heck of it. First, I think the title is a bit sarcastic in some ways, but appreciative in others. And that in itself describes the movie. Here are some neat observations: Ricky tells Jane, while showing her the floating bag, that sometimes all the beauty in the world makes him think that his heart is about to cave in. At the end of the movie, Lester says that all the beauty in the world makes his heart want to burst. Kind of interesting to think about when comparing the characters.. Secondly, it's interesting to think about the ending you didn't see.. Who's going to get blamed for the killing?? More than likely, it will be Ricky and Jane. What do you think?? Finally, it is interesting to look at the two families as complete opposites of each other and notice how very similar they are. I think I liked the movie because it portrayed our middle-class American culture in such a way that I felt nostalgia for it even when I'm in the middle of it. You gotta love it..
Response: Yea, sad but true. -David.
IT'S ABOUT US!
Subject: american beauty
Date: Fri, 10 Mar 2000
From: Becca
This film is not about "them", but about "us". Not about "out there" but about "in here". The movie demands our deepest participation, humilty, honesty and compassion. To use this challenging and deeply spiritual film to buttress our own complacency and sense of moral superiority is to miss the mark most grievously. The movie is both fiercely unsettling and devastatingly beautiful, not because it shows us what to avoid, but because it reminds us what to love. And it wounds us, not with just another pious indictment of the alienation, brutality and loneliness of American culture, but by asking us to see the aching, tender and profound loveliness at the heart of all things. Christians, you will never convert your neighbors if you don't love them first. And you can't love them if you pretend that your own heart is not broken, your own innocence not compromised a thousand times, your own lives uncomplicated by loneliness, frustration, dishonesty, greed and fear, your own families undamaged by disconnection, misunderstanding and betrayal. They won't believe you. They'll be right. At first viewing I thought this movie was ultimately about gratitude. The second time I saw it I thought it was about compassion. After seeing it three times I think it's about honesty and humility, from which both gratitude and compassion spring. I, too, am grateful for my stupid, blessed little life.
becca
Response: Hi Becca. Keep your views coming. I always enjoy your thoughts.-David.
ARISTOTLE AND AMERICAN BEAUTY
Subject: american beauty
Date: Fri, 10 Mar 2000
From: Russ
Dear all American Beauty is quite superb. I'd just like to add to Thomas' point. It is about the pursuit of happiness. IN fact the film is riddled with Aristotle who's most famous maxim is "life is the pursuit of happiness". The whole thing seems to hinge on Aristotle's ideas on accident and substance. The accidents of life are the nuts and bolts, the substance of life is where meaning is found. When the Burnhams begin to make-love again on the couch they begin to discover the beauty of marital substance. When they stop for fear of spilling beer on the couch they reject the substance of life for the accidents. The powerful challenge of the film lies in the beauty of meaning and to coin a phrase, if "you look really carefully at beauty, you'll see God staring back."
Russ (please don't disclose email address)
Response: Accidents are the nuts and bolts of life -some how I like that -David.
POKEMON AND AMERICAN BEAUTY
Subject: tract
Date: Tue, 7 Mar 2000
From: charles
hi again david, I was offering to send you a pokemon tract. Kind words now, is great site. Could tell american beauty was a bust who wants to know about a husband cheating with neighbors daughter, what is this the NICE Poision Ivy daughter. Look forward to reply
CHUCK IN CHARLOTTLESVILLE
Response: Send anything you want. I will look at it. P.O. Box 1552, Patterson, CA 95363. -David.
AMERICAN BEAUTY UPLIFT
Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000
From: Elizabeth
I found American Beauty to be one of the most uplifting exp. of my recent
life. It was almost an inspiration watching lester try to reclaim his life.
Elizabeth
intuitivetrust@acmecity.com
ENTERTAINING, PROVOCATIVE, UPLIFTING
Subject: review
Date: Wed, 2 Feb 2000
From: --Thomas
Dear Mr. Bruce,
Firstly, your site's great. Honestly, it's one of the most comprehensive I've seen. Now, for your review of "American Beauty." Boy, you got it all wrong. I don't know, maybe I'm "outside of the box" on this one, but I found "American Beauty" not only to be an endlessly entertaining film, but also a provocative and even uplifting motion picture. It's a poignant study of the search for happiness, yes, but ultimately, I believe, the characters find it for themselves in the end.
Look at it: All Lester ever wanted was Angela, the blond cheerleader and his daughter's best friend, and when he had his chance, he came to his senses when she finally revealed herself; she became a frightened child and he became a flustered adult. They found themselves.
When Lester is killed, Caroline, his wife, cries and screams in pain. She has, finally, become a human being; she has real emotions now.
Janie, the bewildered daughter, has found herself in Ricky Fitts, theat-first-creepy next door neighbor. She actually smiles when she is with him, and he is so devoid of skepticism and cynicism that he sees beauty in everything, even death.
Please write back with your thoughts.
--Thomas
My response: I love your insight. Right on, Thomas!
ABOUT THE ROSE PETALS
It's a veritable posthumous documentary on suburban angst -- guest directed by Sigmund Freud. ;-)
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2000
From: Bill
The movie is, as you have pointed out, about how such vile things as lust, envy, et cetera almost 'drive' the lives of what would be a normal 'statistic' sort of family.
The image of the disembodied rose petals confused me at first -- my mind wandered to the Ancient Romas, and how they would use rose petals for a multitude of purposes, such as cooking, bathing, et cetera. But it occurred to me that red roses, the symbol of love, had been deprived (dare I say 'raped'?) of their petals. Now, we've got mangled, disjointed, incomplete roses -- a symbol of the lust that Mister Burnham seems to cast on Angela.
It intrigued me that Mister Burnham seemed more concerned with lusting after this girl, than the actual act of having sex with her. It reminded me of a quote by Sigmund Freud, the Austrian psychoanalyst: "The priority that the man's mind places on sexually arousing objects [think: objectification of women that arises from lust] sinks the instant it becomes readily available."
"Bill"
NOTHING IS WHAT IT SEEMS
Subject: Devastating Movie
Date: Sun, 21 Nov 1999
From: Doug Ball
There are so many levels to this movie, it's hard to know which one to single out for comment. The levels begin with the title. It could refer to "America the Beautiful" and all that that implies; or to the American Beauty Rose (thus the rose-tending and the rose petals in the movie); or an American Beauty as in the Miss America beauty pagent which implies innocent, pure womanhood, but we get the girl Angela after whom Lester lusts, and who surprisingly turns out to be innocent in a way.
Nothing is what it seems to be. The middle class life (with its picture of orderliness: picket fences and well-tended rose gardens) appears stable and beautiful except when the covers are peeled back.
The homosexual couple, a deeply flawed relationship to be sure, appears in this film as the only sane people. Everything's upside down.
Even the daughter's girlfriend, Angela, is not what she seems. She presents herself as one who's been around and experienced life and sex with lots of boys. Turns out none of this is true. To her friends she seemed to have everything, but she actually had nothing. In a way, she was the American Beauty, but trying to be something else she though people wanted to see.
Lester, to find meaning and happiness, goes BACK in his life to a period of "innocence." He can't deal with his own world so he invents and re-inhabits another one that he makes up.
And then at the end he seems about to reach maturity and begin to turn things around. His first mature act is to realize the enormity of the crime of having sex with his daughter's girlfriend, and not go through with it. This was the true turning point in his life. After this it seemed like he was re-orienting his life when, at the end, he was looking at that picture of his family. His wife also seemed to change at the end, unable to kill her husband and perhaps even appreciative of him (clasping his clothes in the closet).
The voyeur neighbour seems to have everything, or at least a deep appreciation of life. He certainly had that, but only from a distance, through the camera's lens. He too is deeply flawed because of that distance. He doesn't engage life, he stands back and watches.
And do we feel happy for the young couple (the voyeur and Lester's daughter)? No we don't. After all, they're going to New York to become drug dealers. Fine life that. They're circling the bowl already.
This is a finely crafted and beautifully shot movie. All sorts of little touches, like the ex-Marine neighbour's grass looking dry and patchy, to match his life I suppose. The portraits were stark and unblinking. The story starts on a low note and proceeds steadily downward. But I think the suggestion of repentence or renewal and the end was a small hopeful sign, only to be snatched away. How bleak.
Question is: why bother with a movie like this? Why make it? It shows a bleakness to life that we're all familiar with, either personally or second-hand. It simply heaps up more of the same.
The answer is an ambiguous one, suggested in the new eyes Lester gets at the end when it's too late. It may have been too late for him, even if he had lived. His daughter was pretty well gone, but perhaps redeemable. His wife, having had her dreams shattered and then having given in to the chimera of feel-good sex, reached rock bottom but also seemed ready to pull out of her death dive. So much suggested.
But none of it came to be. Which reminds us all to "repent while there still is time" and turn our lives over to God, to be reconciled to him. Death-bed repentences come too late; the joys and happiness of living a God-reconciled, redeemed life has been lost forever. What a shame! What might have been! What a picture!
And thanks be for this site. Like it or not, films are where the culture is being powerfully formed. Nobody quotes Shakespeare; they quote films. Films are the currency of culture, and to ignore them is to have no grounding from which to appeal to un-believers, and certainly no credibility with them. Christians should train themselves to look deeper for Christian themes in these good films. They'll be there--although incomplete and often hidden--for this is God's creation. Grabbing hold of these themes, we can then spin off to gradually develop them more fully with our unbelieving friends and neighbours. Seems to me "movie nights" are a good evangelistic tools. See a movie and then analyse it to death over coffee and doughnuts afterward.
Keep up the good work, David Bruce.
Pro Rege,
Doug Ball
GAY PEOPLE ARE SAMARITIANS
Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1999
From: Kenneth
As much as I like your review of American Beauty, I have to point out one error. The most human person in the film is not the camcorder boy, but the gay couple who are neighbours to the main characters. They are shown to be the most pleasant and sincerely neighbourly people in the film, a far contrast to the focus characters.
You can read this in a biblical sense to since gay people are the modern equivalent of Samaritans in the original connotation to too many people today. They are a group who are regarded as basically foreign and despicable by so called Christians. While this couple is not a position to help the lead character much, they do seem to act like an oasis for him to talk with people who honestly nice to him. Thus in affect they are modern Good Samaritans in a biblical sense in that they are outsiders who are truly fit Jesus' definition of a neighbour in their actions.
ABOUT BROKEN WORLD
Subject: It is about beauty and redemption in a broken world
Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999
From: Mark Christensen
It seems to me that the point of American Beauty is not, as you seem to suggest, the quiet (or occasionally loud) alienation of the Burnham family. Certainly desperation to achieve real human contact is a central theme of the movie. But it is more complex than you seem to suggest.
Lester's desire for Angela is lust, but it's not just about sex. It's about making a connection. So, when Angela reveals herself to him sex becomes irrelevant, even petty, next to the fragile beauty of that moment.
In the next scene, we discover that some of Lester's desire for Angela arises out of a desire to connect, however peripherally, with his daughter, Jane's, life. Of course, Lester's desire for Angela paradoxically becomes another wedge driven between Lester and Jane. And it is precisely this kind of jumble of good motives and bad, run through a broken mind which characterizes the motivations of Lester
and the rest of the characters in the movie.
Strangely enough, what started out as lust, rage, and alienation, ultimately is transformed in the final moments of the film. Lester, at least momentarily, transcends the limitations of his small and broken world and responds with tenderness and compassion when Angela exposes her true self to Lester.
And it is only in light of this moment and its aftermath that I disagree with you. For, while the film is about the alienation and loneliness inherent in a broken world, it is also about compassion, redemption, and beauty. And they are strangely bound together throughout the film - when XXX talks to Jane about filming a dead homeless woman's corpse, he says "when you see something like that, it's like God is looking right at you." And that, I think, is the point of the film: in the midst of the depravity of modern American life, there remains profound and transcendent beauty. And more than that, the beauty we find inside of this broken world points to something or someone above all of this petty inhumanity.
WHY SEE THIS MOVIE?
October 25, 1999 After reading your well written review I wonder why I should go see American Beauty. It will not edify me, encourage me in my walk with the Lord and for sure is not glorifying to Him. One of my biggest criteria to see a movie is WWJD--or, would I buy Him a ticket and would He wanna sit next to me thru it. Usually the answer is no cuz He'd find something better to do and so then perhaps so should I. Sigh. It is not all easy being a disciple of the Lord here on this earth. I love ya, David! Aren't ya glad you asked for opinions! --Randy
My responses: I saw this movie 'with Jesus' and we both found it to be a well done comment on our culture reflecting the deep needs that God is interested in.
PROVOKING AND DEEP
October 28, 1999 I thought this picture was thought provoking and deep. I loved it. One thing you didn't mention in your review was the seize the day attitude of the father and neighbor. The sticker on the father's cubicle, "Look closer", and the scene with the "blowing bag" video taken by the neighbor, both seem to be telling us to look beyond the entrapments of the every day strivings for success and happiness and see life in simplicities. The father became truly happy when he realized he needed to forget his corporate job and buy that car he had dreamt about as a teenager. Kevin Spacey is an amazing actor. The best character was the neighbor though. The fact that he really saw life's beauty and was so overwhelmed by it was so genuine. He didn't need to have a job (quit whenever he wanted) or a car (got ride to school) or status (outcast) but was the only happy character in the movie because he saw beauty. That is why the floating bag scene is so powerful.
FALSE BEAUTY
October 25, 1999 The genius of this movie for me was its ability to cut at our human tendency to stereotype people. As each character is introduced in the movie, they are presented in such a way that the audience forms opinions about them, pigeon-holing them into certain personality types. But as the story goes on, each one of those personality types is shown to be a false surface, hiding the true person inside. Each person presents themselves according to their own understanding of "beauty." In the end, all of those facades are shown to be shallow and untenable foundations for true happiness.
Andy
A POWERFUL AND IMPORTANT FILM
October 20, 1999 I think it is very important for Christians to see films like American Beauty. It is important to try to understand the needs of those we are trying to help. It is important to learn about their world, about their lives and what they face and why they face what they face. It is important to see where the world is looking to find happiness, joy, peace, acceptance, and all those things that we all seek, so we can meet them there and show them the right place to look. This film, I feel, is pointing a very big arrow at the very issues that is causing so much pain, desolation and depression in our world today. It makes me sad that there are so many of God's children out there crying out for acceptance, joy, and happiness. I hope people can watch this film, realize that happiness isn't found in the world, and be driven to seek the truth.
Ben
SOME THOUGHTS ON "AMERICAN BEAUTY"
October 18, 1999 What an interesting film. At first glance i am reminded of the sarcastically titled "Happiness" (I'll have to check to see if you've reviewed that one). The thing that struck me most was the naked HONESTY portrayed by both the father and the drug-dealing boyfriend. The sexuality in this movie, which seemed to be the major catalyst for illumination as well as degradation, stopped just short of becoming obscene, which i was grateful for. This film walked a fine line between substance and (art) abuse, but it did manage to walk that line. I was slightly in shock at the end, but mostly due to suspenseful build up which became quite merciless.. Overall I enjoyed the film, but it didn't change my life - I walked away with the same sad understanding i walked in there with, and I wonder if it truly made a difference in anyone else's lives either..
RICKY IN "AMERICAN BEAUTY"
October 17, 1999I enjoy your insights. I think Ricky's references to looking beyond the immediate and finding the beauty God gives the deeper message of the film. Unfortunately, by the time this point is made many may be tuned out to hearing it. --JEANNIE
EXTERMELY IMPORTANT FILM
My friend and I went to see American Beauty last weekend. I thought it was an extremely powerful and important film. Finally, a film that brings a lot of America's problems out in the open so that we can deal with them. I really think many people are facing the very same issues that these character's are facing. This film speaks about many personal and private things - things none of us talk about in fear of revealing an issue in our own life. The film reveals to the audience many things about the characters that the other characters don't know about. That is just how we are in real life, isn't it? We all do, or at one time or have done things when no one was around and would never find out. We would never tell anyone we did, or thought certain things. We keep these things to ourselves because they are embarrassing or we are ashamed of those things. It's as if the film is speaking to each individual viewer and saying "I know you do things when nobody else is watching, and you should face this thing you do that makes you feel guilty"
AMERICAN BEAUTY AND QUIET DESPERATION
October 12, 1999. I'm went with my college age class to see it. At first, some disliked it, but as we talked about it, more saw a lot of value in the movie. Too much sex for lots of Christians, but a good view of the "quiet desperation" that is out there and the emptiness of dysfunctional families. I have enjoyed your reviews for weeks now, they make me go see movies I would otherwise avoid and have changed my way of observing movies. Thank God for people like you, who see that we need to interact in the world, to see what they are asking about God, and not stand outside the world and condemn. That is what I hope I can teach my friends, that the "world" is not evil, but searching desperately for God, and we can only show them God by being in their world and hearing and answering their questions, building on the work God is already doing in their lives.
My response: Wow! Thank you for your comment. This is exactly the experience I had with the movie. First it disturbed me, then it made me think about our culture, then it became a powerful reflection.
VALUE IN A DISLIKED BEAUTY
August 11, 1999 I went with my college friends to see American Beauty. At first, some disliked it, but as we talked about it, more saw a lot of value in the movie. Too much sex for lots of Christians, but a good view of the "quiet desperation" that is out there and the emptiness of dysfunctional families. I have enjoyed your reviews for weeks now, they make me go see movies I would otherwise avoid and have changed my way of observing movies. Thank God for people like you
My responses: Thank you, I try. |
