American Beauty -20 Years Later
I knew that coming back to American Beauty in the wake of #MeToo and sexual assault allegations against Kevin Spacey would be an uphill battle against my teenage self, obsessed with the deeply flawed narrative and stunning direction. What I did not anticipate, however, was my renewed appreciation for the cast of complex characters, all struggling to discover what is worth living for after a period of stagnation.
American Beauty is in large part about identities, both private and constructed. Lester begins the film in a state of routine and dismay as he begins to see the cracks in the life he has made. He is painfully aware that Carolyn cares more about herself and her interests than anything else, saying that he “get[s] exhausted just watching her.” Carolyn is constantly trying to keep up her facade of perfection: her perfect job, her perfect garden, and her perfect family. The strict construction of the Burnham family dinners becoming more unhinged throughout the course of the film allows the audience to view these conflicting ideologies and check in on how each character has changed. Initially, Carolyn is a commanding force, dictating the music, putting down her family, and demanding respect and recognition, something neither Lester nor Jane enact in their lives. Jane actively tries to blend in and Lester does nothing to change. By the end of the film, Carolyn is defiant of her husband and she too seeks to become free of the life she has made, even if she has to take that life from Lester. Jane becomes her own person in the eyes of Ricky, devoid of her parents and Angela, and is able to see that she doesn’t need any of them to dictate or be present in the future she wants for herself. Lester realizes the depths of his sedation as the stability of his job and his identity of fourteen years begins to shift below him and decides to change before the world forces him to.
Key to all of these changes is the film’s subplot: love. Each of the main characters falls in love or lust, presenting the romanticization of others as a method of escape and vessel of transformation. After Carolyn fails to sell a house, she fawns over Buddy at a realtor’s party, drunkenly begging for his guidance and later beginning an affair. Carolyn desires Buddy because he has the confidence and the career that she only pretends to have, and thus adopts Buddy’s ideologies and companionship in order to achieve his perfect life (or so it appears to her on the surface). Jane desires to be the average teenager, struggling to find her niche and settling into the background beside Angela. Ricky shows Jane what it is like to be confident in eccentricity, even if it isn’t always pretty or “cool” to the mainstream. Lester is shedding his old self and feels free in a way he hasn’t since his teenage years, desiring Angela because she presents beauty, youth and a life of possibility ahead, and admiring Ricky because he represents what Lester aspires to become.
And of course, we must address the elephant in the room: the issue of adolescence in the eye of desire. There is no defense of the underage girl/middle-aged man coupling, but I would like to highlight it’s narrative significance. Lester craves the promise of his youth and seeks to fulfill his teenage dreams: getting the beautiful girl, the cool car, and having no responsibilities other than taking care of himself. In the film’s third act and the height of the plot, both Lester and Angela look to each other for validation. Lester wants to know that he has achieved his goal of becoming a man worth desiring, while Angela needs to know that there is anything likable about her. Lester’s advances stop just short of sex, but this is irrelevant to their character arcs. Both acquire the affirmation they needed and find acceptance in their true selves. Angela has her realization that she has been a bad friend to Jane and that her lies about her sexual exploits have only been damaging her self-esteem, not boosting it. Lester realizes that he has finally spoken his truth to everyone and no longer fears life or change, giving his murder the silver lining of self-actualization.
Ricky’s subplot presents additional hope in the film because he shows how one can achieve happiness despite having a dysfunctional family. His father, Colonel Fitts, cannot come to terms with his true identity and overcompensates by adopting a persona of toxic masculinity. His gun collection, his constant insults of homosexuality, and his obsession with the military are all part of what he sees as the all American man and act as a cover for his own repressed homosexuality. By his side, Mrs. Fitts appears to struggle physically and emotionally, appearing absentminded in her day to day tasks and suggesting unaddressed depression or mental illness as well as possible spousal abuse (as suggested by the Colonel’s beatings of Ricky). Lacking a “normal” childhood filled with loving parents, Ricky took his life into his own hands and began searching for beautiful things outside of the family unit and creating his video collection, curating the odd, every day, and beautiful. His vast collection of tapes shows us how important it is for him to know that there is more to the world than his family, both that there are those who have it worse (the homeless woman he saw freeze to death) and the beautiful (the plastic bag caught in a whirl of wind and leaves). Ricky understands his reality but knows that he is his own man, able to firmly stand his ground against his father. His acceptance of self is reflected in the confidence he exudes, attracting Jane and Lester, while repelling Angela and her mask of confidence.
While the film holds so many darker tones and questionable morals, especially to our 2019 minds, there is no denying the overwhelmingly hopeful message and that it remains an important part of the cinematic canon.
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