American Beauty

American Beauty, in my opinion, is one of the most successful films in regards to its use of mise-en-scene (without it being too overwhelming). The symbols are simply set up and the patterns that develop guide the audience along. Immediately, the audience is immersed in this world. We are in the thick of it. Through the use of the color red, lighting, costuming, and mirroring of scenes the director clearly, and artistically told the story of Lester Burnham.

The most obvious motif in American Beauty is the use of the color red (particularly with the roses). But what did the red mean? I took it to mean quite a few things. The life-force of the characters, sexuality (lust), and an indicator of character growth. Near the start of the film we see Carolyn (Annette Bening) cutting red roses in her front yard. She gives off this unhealthy, suffocating air of complete control. Carolyn is stifling the "life-force," quite literally, by cutting the roses, and this side of her character is shown through the scenes where she interacts with her family. 

With Lester the red roses are representative of his pent-up sexuality and lust for his daughter's friend Angela. Lester fantasizes about Angela numerous times throughout the movie. In these fantasies the red roses are ever present. This indicates to the viewers that what is happening is not real. 

At the end of the movie, in Lester's and Angela's near sexual encounter there is a vase of roses in the background. Ultimately Lester's lust and dissatisfaction with life lead to his downfall. In an article on the website The Artifice, author Dale Barham puts this idea eloquently."It’s almost like Lester’s lust for Angela lit the fuse on the entire downward spiral of events. If he hadn’t become obsessed with her, he wouldn’t have started working out. If he hadn’t started working out, Colonel Fitts wouldn’t have spotted him working out naked. If Colonel Fitts hadn’t spotted him, he wouldn’t have thought his son, Ricky, was sleeping with him. Then he wouldn’t have come out as gay and tried to kiss Lester; and if he hadn’t done that, he wouldn’t have been driven to kill him. It was beauty killed the beast.”

The lighting in the film was one of my favorite devices of showing character development. After Carolyn's failed open house, once everyone has left, she walks in to the empty living room, closes the blinds over the sliding glass doors, leans up against the blinds and breaks down crying. Her dimly lit, sobbing silhouette is powerful. We get a window into how not in control she is. And only until she is alone does she let the facade of success and being in-control fall away. 

At the game when Lester sees and fantasizes about Angela for the first time, the use of a spotlight on Angela, and a highlight over Lester's gawking eyes makes it feel like Angela is just dancing for him and they are the only people in the gymnasium. This scene even further proves how sad and sexually frustrated Lester is. 

The lighting I was most fascinated by was the lighting involving Ricky. One of the first times we see Ricky, he is in a pitch black room, and only the upper part of his face is lit by his camcorder. At this point, Ricky is still a mystery to the audience and to the characters he is curiously observing. 

Another scene where he is filming Jane, she notices and calls him out on it. He decides to stop "hiding," and reveals himself by turning on the porch light that is directly above him. This was a bold move and he continues to show throughout the rest of the film how confident and unapologetic he is. Ricky helps bring out this air of confidence in a couple of the characters, especially in Lester. 

Another one of the ways red is used and shows character development is through the costuming. While Carolyn is cleaning the house she is about to show, she takes off her clothes and cleans in her red slip. This shows that she is hiding her more passionate side and is just as repressed and sexually frustrated as Lester. As the film goes on, she starts to loosen up a bit, and therefore is seen in more red clothing. After she has an affair with Buddy, she wears an all red suit, showing that her sexual-frustration has finally been released. There isn't as much red in Lester's clothing, but when he finally quits his job, sticks up for himself, and gains more confidence his clothing becomes less stuffy and stiff. 

The director used, what I like to call mirrored scenes, to help show that the characters who seem so opposite aren't as different as they would like to let on. For example, when Lester and Carolyn finally let loose. Lester quits his job and does what he wants, while Carolyn has an affair with Buddy and blows off steam by shooting a gun. They both are seen in similarly set up scenes, driving alone in their cars and singing along to their music happily and loudly. 

There are two other scenes that show Jane and Ricky managing their finances/cash flow to save up for what they want most. Ricky's want for more film equipment and Jane's want for a breast augmentation. 

Through the director and crew's use of these different elements of mise-en-scene, they created a fully realized world and interesting characters. American Beauty is one of the most beautifully made films I have ever seen. My view of this movie couldn't be put any better than Lester's last monologue. "I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me, but it's hard to stay mad when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much. My heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst. And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain, and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life. You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry. You will someday."

Works Cited

"American Beauty - Don't Rain on My Parade." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lizDEo04dGA>.

"American Beauty - Informations Blu-Ray DVD." AVCesar. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2014. <http://cinedb.avcesar.com/film_bluray_dvd/i-14/american-beauty.html>.

"American Beauty Kevin Spacey Applies for Job Drive through." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJh5wdvdfVE>.

"American Beauty Roses." :: Factandfiction. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2014. <http://www.thefactandfiction.com/news/american-beauty-roses/>.

"American Beauty: The Color Red and the Power of the Visual Image." The Artifice. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2014. <http://the-artifice.com/american-beauty-color-red/>.

"Auteur of the Week: Sam Mendes." The Diary of a Film History Fanatic. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2014. <http://cinema-fanatic.com/2010/07/27/auteur-of-the-week-sam-mendes/>.

"Bright Lights Film Journal." BLFJ Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2014. <http://brightlightsfilm.com/72/72crisis_engle.php#.VFHHHPnF-W4>.

"Every Single Moment of Your Stupid Little Life: The Trauma of Dissolving Fantasy in American Beauty." And My Sidearm. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2014. <https://andmysidearm.wordpress.com/2010/12/06/every-single-moment-of-your-stupid-little-life-masculinity-in-american-beauty-the-trauma-of-dissolving-fantasy/>.

"Why 'American Beauty' Works: Focus on the Use of Symbols." Why 'American Beauty' Works: Focus on the Use of Symbols. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2014. <http://www.writersstore.com/why-american-beauty-works-focus-on-the-use-of-symbols/>.

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