American Beauty
December 2000 Reviewed by: Roger Kanno Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

"Sometimes there is so much beauty in the world that I feel that I can’t take it," or so says one of the characters in American Beauty. Coincidentally enough, that about describes the way that I feel about this film. American Beauty is not a particularly beautiful film, in fact it is quite ugly in that it exposes the hypocrisy and dysfunction that lies beneath the surface of middle-class American lives. However, it tells its story so brilliantly and so convincingly that it moves me in ways that few films can.

The story focuses on the life of Lester Burnam, played by Kevin Spacey. Lester’s life sucks and he knows it. His wife is living in denial, his teenage daughter hates the both of them and he is stuck in a dead end job. Yet he explains that his life has not always been so miserable. There is evidence in the film to suggest that he and his wife used to be very much in love and that their beautiful little girl was once the light of their lives.

The performances are all first rate. Kevin Spacey is absolutely mesmerizing as Lester. Annette Bening, who plays Lester’s wife, is also spectacular despite the fact that her role is somewhat one-dimensional. Even more incredible is Mena Suvari in the role of Lester’s daughter’s best friend. All performances are Oscar-worthy, but this is truly Spacey’s film.

First time director Sam Mendes and writer Alan Ball have crafted an unforgettable film that both amuses and disturbs. There is one scene between Suvari and Spacey that is particularly uncomfortable to watch, but there are other scenes that will make you smile and others that will make you laugh out loud. American Beauty is somewhat of a cross between Forrest Gump and The Ice Storm. It perfectly blends mischievous whimsy with brooding intensity and the result is a serious film that appeals to more than just the art house film crowd.

The sound quality of American Beauty is problematic. Although it is exceedingly well recorded, the surround channels are surprisingly inactive. Even scenes that could obviously have been enhanced by a more prominent surround ambience are not. However, the front stereo soundstage has great depth and is wide and expansive. Especially notable is Thomas Newman’s music score, which beautifully captures the essence of the film. It is wonderfully atmospheric, and features some incredibly well recorded percussion. The music appropriately compliments the onscreen action and even has some incredibly deep bass that adds tension to the film. Although this soundtrack sometimes lacks surround ambience, it is still a beautifully recorded and effective mix.

This DVD features both DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks. While both versions are very good, the DTS is preferable because of its smoother overall sound, better detail, and slightly deeper bass. An example of this can be found in Chapter 9, "I Love Root Beer," in which the percussive score sounds more natural, images better, and the bass reaches just a little bit deeper with DTS.

The video transfer of American Beauty is very good despite the fact that the picture is a little soft; however, this is probably more a result of the appearance of the original film. This slight softness is more noticeable in the many shots with low light. However, the lighting is always natural, realistic and yet still artistic, which makes this lack of detail unobjectionable.

The extras on this Dreamworks "Awards Edition" DVD consist of theatrical trailers, a production featurette, production notes, cast and crew biographies, a storyboard presentation, and audio commentary by Sam Mendes and Alan Ball. The commentary by Mendes and Ball is insightful and gives plenty of detail into the thought processes that went into the making of the film as well as the technical details and evolution of the script. The featurette has interviews with the principal cast and crewmembers and even some thoughts from Steven Spielberg himself. There are also enhanced DVD-ROM features that include additional storyboards, film footage, and the screenplay.

American Beauty is a film that perfectly combines serious subject matter with humor that is so absurd that it had to have been taken from real life. The picture and sound quality may not be of reference quality on this disc, but the film itself is remarkable. Just get it! It’s that good.

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