The Awards Edition of American Beauty contains a second volume of interviews with cast and crew proclaiming the universally recognized merits of this classic film honestly portraying the quirky lives of some suburban high-schoolers and parents, striking a chord with movie viewers everywhere. Vol. 2 tells us there are several layers to it, and while most people will grasp level 3, fewer will get level 4, and only the director gets level 12. "American Beauty" takes up where the Byrds' song Turn, Turn, Turn leaves off. The Byrds took their material straight from the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes making theirs the oldest pop song lyrics on record­—10th century B.C. While the "time to every purpose" theme exhausts the first half of the third chapter of Ecclesiastes, the second half can be followed in the plot of "American Beauty."

I did a refresher viewing on a Monday afternoon after having listened on Sunday night to a radio program of old music. The disk jockey was celebrating his 62nd birthday come midnight by playing music that was on the charts when he was born, in the summer of 1949. I had just turned on the radio to hear some dialogue from South Pacific where a woman was telling someone to listen to the island call him, then she broke into a stirring rendition of Bali Ha'i when he heard the island's call. The DJ told us it was the same singer who performed in the original theater production whom they kept­—alone of all the cast­—because of her song.

Next afternoon I'm watching "American Beauty," a tranquil suburban dinner scene with Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) and his wife Carolyn (Annette Bening) seated at opposite ends of an elegantly furnished table, daughter Jane sitting in the middle. Bali Ha'i is playing in the background, and I am enchantedly aware that they've captured that little island of tranquility for them­selves. The mood is broken when Janie says, "Do we have to listen to that elevator music?" Evidently, she hasn't heard the island calling her; she hasn't claimed it as her own. Later on she will hear the call of the boy next door, but we haven't got there yet. She seems to be angry at, or at least indifferent to, her father, and her mother doesn't fare much better. She is "angry, insecure and confused."

A question soon arises in my mind: Whom was she cheering for? She's a cheer­leader with the Dancing Spartanettes. She wasn't cheering for her parents who took the trouble to attend a basket­ball game to see her perform. She seemed put out that they even came. And she isn't cheering to be popular. Her mother makes a point that Jane deliberate­ly dresses unattractive. (Her mom, however, dresses to the nines.) No, why does she cheer if she doesn't do it to please anyone, not even herself? Or, to quote the book, (Eccl. 3:9) "What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?" I'm not saying there are necessarily answers to these questions, but any frustrated parent can see this in the movie, or for that matter, in the book of Ecclesiastes.

Carolyn works as a real estate agent, and man does she work at it. She drives herself to distraction­—"I will sell this house today." Even in her home life she is so focused on the furniture that she can't have fun with her husband­—"When did you become so joyless?" Her mentor's motto is, "In order to be successful, one must project an image of success at all times." She is the epitome of (Eccl. 3:10), "I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it."

Last Saturday I went to a block party in my old neighborhood on the poor side of town. The bands played on a stage set up on my old drive­way. This neighbor­hood has status as a historical district. That means my old nondescript house is a prime example of a work­man's bungalow of 30s or 40s vintage. A lot of old crumbling things are now important historical artifacts.

I remember living there and wanting to erect some ham radio antennas in the yard. The FCC regards antennas in a historical district as a major construction requiring a lot of red tape. I read the rules and discovered a loop­hole, that if the antenna is merely a length of wire and it parallels an existing wire, or one that used to be there, one may erect it without any red tape. Well, my wire antennas were parallel to the electric lines to the house, and the phone line, and cable. No problem. I wanted to put a small wire run perpendicular to them where there weren't any parallel running wires, but I found an old vine-encrusted clothes-line pole whose defunct wire line paralleled my run, so I was in business. Don't you just love historical districts?

Putting up my antenna I passed some kitties sunning themselves on the stairs and reached out to pet one. Ouch! Those were feral cats.

At the party, across the street was a booth marked Psychological Help $1. It was manned by a guy with a painted-on mustache and dressed as a big banana. I suppose he was there to help anyone who had gone bananas.

The new neighbors in "American Beauty" included eighteen year old Ricky who was hot with his camera to photograph everything in sight­—"Welcome to America's weirdest home videos." He saw beauty everywhere. "Some­times there's so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can't take it, and my heart is going to cave in." He's like that historical district making old and neglected things seem valuable. He photo­graphs dead things, garbage, and plain Jane, making her seem appealing.

His father Colonel Fitts, US Marine Corps (Chris Cooper) is the big banana there to instill structure and discipline into his son Ricky, but the colonel is so inculcated with his military world view that he hasn't got a clue what's going on around him. For entertainment he is seen watching a movie on TV where a soldier says he joined the army for three reasons: "I love my country, I'm patriotic, and they nailed me." That got a belly laugh out of him, but its' so lame that it wouldn't have been included in the script except it went along with the military man who is living in his own world. And woe be to the neighbor who reaches out an arm to comfort him. He's the big banana ready and willing to dispense advice­—"This country is going straight to hell."

The artistically aware son and clue­less father are examples of, (Eccl. 3:11) "He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end."

The two neighbors Jim and Jim are the ones with the right idea. (Verse 12) "I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life." They do a good deed. They bring over a welcome gift for their new neighbors the Fitts­—"Just a little something from our garden." The Colonel is quite appreciative until they answer his question about them being partners, "What's your business?"

Lester also gets something right. (Verse 13) "And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God." He gathers his somewhat disjointed family together for a family meal. That's admirable. Not every family does as much. He is also seen to be enjoying the fruit of his labor: a 1970 Firebird and some choice herb. That's more or less along the lines of what we're supposed to do, enjoy God's blessings of the fruit of our labor.

The film starts to get more philosophical when it introduces Jane's pretty cheerleader friend Angela. Does she really have a career as a model in the offing or is it a pipe dream­—"You've only been in Seventeen once."? She talks the talk, but does whe walk the walk? Que sera sera­—"Everything that was meant to happen does eventually." (Eccl. 3:14) "I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him."

Lester at age 42 makes a surprising career change. He's able to negotiate a handsome severance package with the company he's with, because he's got the goods on some higher-ups and is prepared to spill the beans unless they accommodate him. Then he parleys some past work experience from twenty years ago into a more agreeable line of work. (Eccl. 3:15) "That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past."

When we get to verse 16, the plot becomes most interesting. (Eccl. 3:16-17) "And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there. I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work." Colonel Fitts in attempting to use good judgment whom he would allow his son to associate with, ended up committing a wicked act, and several seemingly righteous acts­—Lester making his daughter's girlfriend feel welcome, his employer asking for employee self-evaluations, his wife's competitor offering to give her tips on the business­—each had its own ulterior motive. A lot of supposed good has bad mixed in with it. That's how life is.

It turns out to be death that's a driving factor in both the movie and the book. "American Beauty" begins with Lester's calm announcement that he will be dead within a year. Ricky and Janie pause in their walk to contemplate a funeral. Lester tells us when his last day begins. (Eccl. 3:18-21) "I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. For that which be­falleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?" Do we have a spiritual life above the earthly one of the animals? The movie ends with a panorama looking down at the world leaving us with the feeling that the best we can do is that which will make us happy while we're here. (Verse 22) "Wherefore I perceived that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?"

"American Beauty" certainly fulfills John W. Whitehead's premise in Grasping for the Wind­—the search for meaning in the 20th century­—that movies today serve to provide a forum for discussing God and religion as once did paintings in a bygone era. There is plenty of material from Ecclesiastes that can be pondered or discussed from this movie whether one recognizes the source or not. It's also woven together in a manner that is easy to get caught up in, not quite a spell per se, but at least the easy feeling you get listening to a song you like. Much of it is shot in Super 35 Widescreen which helps emphasize the feelings of alienation in some scenes, Ricky's zooming in with his camera on Jane produces the feeling of his reaching out, and a hand­held camera was used to follow the violence of Col. Fitts. These were great techniques. Due to cramped quarters, they had to mute the background in some indoor fantasy shots, but that wasn't too objectionable. They sure used talent for the acting, though. I can see why it got all those awards.

See it for a great experience. If you're looking for a double feature, I recommend The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button for the first film.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age