The Meaning of Life and Self Actualization in 'American Beauty' | Film Analysis

Passion, crisis, and the search to discover oneself, are some of the things that “American Beauty” presents us, a film written by Alan Ball and which marked the debut of Sam Mendes as a film director. From this story, it is curious that although we identify Lester Burnham as the protagonist, the other characters that surround him do not feel secondary, but rather main. As irreplaceable pieces that if they changed a little, this story would be totally different. If Ricky were more honest, he wouldn't have made illegal business, which would avoid the conflict between his father and Lester. If Jane weren't so insecure, she probably would have met another boy much earlier. If Ricky's father did not suppress his feelings, he would accept homosexuality. And so we could continue. We perceive great dynamism thanks to the characters having an internal conflict related to the same theme: personal identity. A totally current theme in this postmodern world, where the identity crisis is the order of the day. In this story we follow the last days of the life of Lester Burnham, a man who for years has felt sedated, with an insipid daily life and with a family that went from being happy to oppressive. Until he meets his daughter's best friend, Angela Hayes, who will be the turning point in Lester's life. Like other film works we've reviewed here, many “American Beauty” events have more than one interpretation. And what makes this story even more interesting is that it touches on topics rich in discussion such as the midlife crisis, personal motivation, and the very meaning of life. A spoiler alert is deserved because this time we will analyze in depth "American Beauty".

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Image credits:
TM & Dreamworks (1999)
Cast: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Mena Suvari
Director: Sam Mendes
Producers: Alan Ball, Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks, Stan Wlodkowski
Screenwriter: Alan Ball

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