“I’m just an ordinary guy with nothing to lose.”
American Beauty (1999) has garnered much critical acclaim (including Best Picture, Cinematography, Actor, Director and Writing honors), yet Sam Mendes’ (Jarhead, Road to Perdition) directorial debut is often lauded for the wrong reasons. While the film juxtaposes notions of subjective beauty (including the now cliched plastic bag floating on the wind) with external measures of success, it’s not a trenchant examination. The narrative doesn’t dig that deep.
You have to admit the contrivance of cliches that strive (and often succeed) to evoke emotional responses. What luck that our protagonist Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) has the perfect gay couple living to one side while a repressed, militant anti-homosexual moves in next door. His wife Carolyn (played pitch perfectly by Anette Bening) is the narcissistic, melodramatic stereotype of material and societal achievement while his emotionally alienated daughter Jane (Thora Birch) just happens to be friends with the shallow, pretty girl, Angela, (Mena Suvari) who fuels Lester’s masturbatory dreams of youth and attraction.
Yet when we do as any good moviegoer should and suspend disbelief, we’re treated to a provocative, well acted dark comedy about a mid-life crisis that averts a nervous breakdown through retreat into adolescence. Breaking out of the rat race by blackmailing his employer for $60,000 (which allows him to buy the dream car from his childhood — a 1970 Pontiac Firebird), Lester takes a fast food job “with the least possible amount of responsibility” and spends his days smoking pot and working out so as to “look good naked.” Not exactly the most challenging of transformations, but the meat of Alan Ball’s (Six Feet Under, True Blood) screenplay comes not from the depth of the drama but rather the witty dialog and interactions.
Spacey’s voice over narration opening American Beauty clues us in that his character will be dead before the movie’s end which culminates in an almost undeserved poignancy. And as much as Lester wallows in irresponsibility for the majority of the flick, surrounded by people afraid of their desires and suffocated by fear, he comes to enjoy life, moment by moment. If there is any lesson to be gleaned here, this is one worth taking note of.
High-Def Presentation
The latest entry in Paramount’s “Sapphire Series” is not quite on par with the HD transfers for Braveheart or Forrest Gump but is easily on the opposite end of the spectrum from the unwatchable disaster of the initial Gladiator BD. Keeping the image from being its high-def best is intermittent digital sharpening that’s not overly distracting, slight bleeding of the thematic crimson hues and, most annoying, print damage (not uncommon on the studio’s catalog titles) in the form of dirt and speckles throughout. Beneficially American Beauty on Blu-ray allows Conrad Hall’s gorgeous cinematography (with purposeful use of ambient lighting and soft filters that don’t make for a razor sharp image) to shine complimented by a well maintained grain structure and relative detail, contrast and color reproduction that are a significant improvement over standard-def. Of course Paramount branded the Sapphire Series as “the best pictures with the best picture” and not going the extra effort to fully live up to that motto may garner them some flack on this release.
A mix of classic rock songs from artists including the Who, Bob Dylan, Free and the Guess Who co-mingle with Thomas Newman’s memorable piano based score that is the highlight of this soundtrack, delivered in a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix. Rear channel presence is subdued with minimal ambiance coming from surround use though the front heavy presentation with great reproduction of dialog and the “return to youth” themed tunes is what I’d expect from a late 90’s comedy/drama effort. This lossless audio does a respectable job.
Beyond the Feature
The mildly underwhelming extras are duplicated from the DVD edition with American Beauty Look Closer (21:52) being the obvious stinker. This featurette is mostly self congratulatory fluff that you’ll easily forget. Thankfully director Sam Mendes has proven he knows how to turn in a thought provoking and subtly humorous Commentary which with input from screenwriter Alan Ball illuminates inspiration behind the film’s construction. Complimenting this track is Storyboard Presentation With Sam Mendes and Director of Photography Conrad L. Hall (61:20) where the duo deconstruct Beauty’s sumptuous visual style with many astute observations. Rounding out the supplements are the two theatrical Trailers (4:22, HD).
While I think Sam Mendes’ breakthrough flick is overrated, the resulting quality for my tastes is the difference between “great” and “very good” with the strengths (stellar acting, biting comedy, emotional resonance) far outweighing the arguable weaknesses (cliched roles, thin story). Paramount’s Blu-ray video for American Beauty is pretty nice, but enough minor issues detract from the “Sapphire Series” level of expectation. It is still a solid upgrade from the DVD version for fans if you overlook the lack of new extras.
– Robert Searle
Shop for American Beauty “Sapphire Series” on Blu-ray at a discounted price from Amazon.com.
