American Beauty - Reflection (Second Time Watching)

(this is a rewritten post from 14 June 2018)

Watching it for the first time, it gives an overall impression I couldn’t quite pick a word for. Slightly disturbed but it drew me in with uneasiness and unabashedly inevitable relevance as characters' façade made of intricate unreconciled layers unveiled. The crossing path between characters each bears complicated psychological background makes the undercurrent tension is of intrigue in itself along with anticipation to culminating conflict.

The contentious moral by right would pokes conscience as it is not presented to spoonfeed in black and white manner. An extreme case as though they may be, it is very much in reference to reality, in which all individuals just happened to meet and match their unfilled need. Superficiality is a mere indicated deeper long in this modern society's epidemic.

You can click here for the summary (I don't fond of spreading over plots in sequence)

The second time I watched it, plenty got to me as if it was the first time. Immoral it might be, it's gotten easier to sympathize and relate (it was, vaguely and I didn't investigate it). Characters stretch within grey spectrum, complex mixture of good and evil you've increasingly witnessed in real life. You sympathize yet don't side fully to all characters as the change of situation turn one's view justified, and audience's mighty moral judgment mends as some ring true, either first-handed or being a witness one has been. The expanse of experience and outlook in life affects the extent a character get to them, not to say I've grown as bitter (not completely), but to understand how survival in desperation may cause someone to go against their value. The first view, I was a highschool student, landing to a dream job was seemingly as attainable as crossing bucketlist as much as quitting one for your passion call was. The level of peace acquired had little to do with peace and more to being unexposed to responsibility. Although being pessimistic is not sustainable but in adult transitioning stage, one can sympathize how others fall into that line of thinking.

When a real estate mother, Carolyn Burnham, flamed into anger and desperation having her house turned down, she stood back assuringly, when visibly it still lumped in her. it does not look like exaggeration as it makes too real of a fact that people resolute piling expectation onto the next target, as one failed miserably tumble down rest of the burden it came with. Although most of the time she made the least favored character (reminds you of some colleague perhaps) for a nagging, materialistically driven person she is, it gives a peep of what one values and made them who they are.

Lester (the husband) is more complicated. His oddly calm manner is a brilliant portrayal of underlying conflicts, unmeet satisfaction. His thoughts, on the fence of sanity they can seem, never took shape into physical harm, not even his wife. It's a fair depiction of how sick any individual is had the mind spoken out. Some are mild grudges most would have, except a perfect match of Allan Ball the scriptwriter and Kevin's delivery made them eloquent. He does not aggress, he just couldn't be bothered with responsibility as a father. His detachment to his role forms into a thrill of infatuation toward his daughter's girl friend. He didn't initiate an advance and the conscience remaining dilutes him more in his grey's moral spectrum. Not necessarily likable (as all is made not to be), he is definitely the most intriguing one I find throughout this film.

His daughter is a teenager lives with insecurity in a typical teenage dream. From her interaction with her parents, she is more psychologically impacted by family's disharmony and neglect. Obsessed with breast surgery, from her lines one can draw her concern over physical superficialities while simultaneously there lies a profound side of her that disregard those, that attracted the cam-recorder man, beauty seeker that recognizes hers.

Angela's insecurity cracks open under convincingly confident, insensitive boastful desirable teenage girl with her lollita-esque's move. Her insecurity showed as she gave in to Lester, in the confrontation to objectification that has given her the power. We were led to a point of breakdown where she is not any less miserable under utterance.

Colonel Fitts, last one of brilliant character. His presence guarantees emotional intense scene despite rare appearance. Subtle tension on shady son's incompliance blared into violence in his obsessively adhered-run father and son relationship. The poor mental state of his wife hints unpleasant history in the house without a need to address. Hints of his trigger tease mystery of his background, in what we'd be grateful for the scrapped off details in the actual script, now provided just enough that it's long repressed and vented out to many. Despite the odd, he played the major twist and though it can be shocking for such a long-built story, the shame of rejection to his confronted repression makes the shooting logical. All hints connect. Only appearing from middle toward the end, he didn’t come off complementary and as strongly significant to the puzzle of the whole conception of American Beauty.

It was not my intention that this review dominantly covers the characters. Seeing one of its screenplay study, it agrees that the characters here make a big deal of quality to the whole story.

with a pile of history background each has, their present self we have little knowledge of, and present continuous sequence give audience a peep to their life at a point of time, without flashback. What made this film powerful, is the subtle tone of desperation, in many form of distraction. At one point everyone unable to cope with the hollowing desire of living, on another scene they turn into a state of betterment through another distraction. The vacant essential long was replaced with denial, infatuation, target obsession. The title, American Beauty, perfectly captures the darkness to American dream.

I liked it the first time I watched it, I like it more now and know why.  Easily one of the top five film in my list.