581. DantheMan - 9/27/99 6:15:18
AM
I saw American Beauty over the weekend and loved it. The acting
was spectacular, especially Spacey's, for the reasons Raskolnikov
said. I did not find it misanthropic or contrived, but rather
very much alive, and Spacey's story even a bit redemptive. I also
liked the sense of tension throughout the movie, which reminded
me of The Ice Storm (a movie that deserved far better praise than
it received) more than anything else recently.
587. Raskolnikov - 9/27/99 8:15:18
AM
Dan:
"I saw American Beauty over the weekend and loved it. The
acting was spectacular, especially Spacey's, for the reasons
Raskolnikov said. I did not find it misanthropic or contrived,
but rather very much alive, and Spacey's story even a bit
redemptive. I also liked the sense of tension throughout the
movie, which reminded me of The Ice Storm (a movie that deserved
far better praise than it received) more than anything else
recently."
SPOILERS
What I found particularly contrived was the subplot involving
Chris Cooper. The events which lead him to think that Spacey's
character is gay would make the creators of Three's Company blush
in their dependence on misunderstanding a situation. And in the
end, this subplot is the cause of Spacey's death. What does this
signify? why did Spacey have to die? What is the film's moral, or
lesson from his death? I think the answer is "never let a
repressed-homosexual marine make a pass at you". Not
particularly enlightening.
588. Dantheman - 9/27/99 9:19:20
AM
Raskolnikov,
SPOILER
I found the meaning of this movie in the Spacey-Bening plot, not
the Cooper subplot. I felt that Spacey's conduct, far from being
juvenile, showed a sense of finding oneself and freeing oneself
from the demands of a person (Bening) who did not have Spacey's
best interests at heart. The death at the hands of Cooper, shows
that one cannot predict the future, but must live one's life in
the present. I suspect that the writer meant to give us a choice
between a full life lived as Spacey did at the start and a
shortened one lived for one's enjoyment and asks which is
preferable.
590. Raskolnikov - 9/27/99 10:03:30
AM
Dan: I recommend watching "Ikiru". That movie generally
did what you describe in post 588, and did much better, with
greater emotional weight. It also takes a much stronger stand on
the criteria for a "good life".
I did think that there was potential for the Bening-Spacey
conflict - exploring how change can be difficult to accept for
those close to you. But this was at best a sub-theme of the movie,
and it was jettisoned in the conclusion, being used only as a red
herring.
593. SpenceMirrlees - 9/27/99 10:44:28
AM
Dantheman, if that is the message of American Beauty, that is
quite ironic, for along with "everything that happens is
meant to be and everything meant to be happens," "live
in the moment" is perhaps the top suburban mantra du jour.
One cannot attend any decent child's soccer match without hearing
these companion sayings.
The reason I didn't think American Beauty was any good at all as
a satire was that good satire can demolish its subject on that
subject's own terms. American Beauty does not approach suburbia
on its own terms, but rather terms that are as mawkish as Leave
it to Beaver or the Brady Bunch. In fact, though they don't
intend it, the latter two are almost better satires of suburbia
than American Beauty.
