KK 3,307 Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/09/15/american-beauty-15th-anniversary/I never quite understood the huge backlash this film keeps getting. I still think it's a great film! It's themes and style still makes it quite relevant today. It may not be the intense social critique it was made out to be, but I still find it quite effective.So what about you guys? Do you find it overrated? Thoughts? Discuss! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon Hill 4,233 Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 It's excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedfud 38 Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 wonderful film.....great scoret Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hlao-roo 389 Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Regardless of American Beauty's cinematic legacy, Thomas Newman's wry, woozy, surreal masterpiece makes the film's existence incontrovertibly worthwhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Haven't seen it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Mark 3,625 Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Don;t remember it too much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,326 Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 It's an old movie, KM, ... but it's great! It's written by Alan Ball of Six Feet Under and True Blood fame. A perfect balance between comedy and drama.I still need to see Towelhead, a film he written and directed himself. I saw it once in the store, but it was too expensive for a DVD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not Mr. Big 4,639 Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I thought it was great the first time I saw it but now it seems sort of hokey. It's still really entertaining though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,326 Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Overly sentimental? American Beauty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus 5,399 Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Featuring the greatest plastic bag ever caught on film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 7,473 Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 It has some dated topicality in terms of gender issues and so on, but other than that it's a wonderful satire and one of the best films of the 90s, IMO. The 90s was THE decade for satire in films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcus 390 Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I find it ironic that the article's conversation about the film reveals exactly the kind of uptight moralism that American Beauty makes satire of. American Beauty is a 90s masterpiece, and a beautiful one at that, with a truly humanistic message of forgiveness, and it's an unusually wise, non-judgemental film for its time. It portrays flawed human beings, and celebrates them as such. Therein lies the beauty (in the film as in life). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocodile 7,984 Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Yeah, it's one of the better American dramas of past 20 years, at least of those made by major studios. Witty, unpatronising and bittersweet.And, I have to admit, the score has really grown on me over the years. Ave, Newman!Karol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,504 Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 There's a great sadness at the heart of "American Beauty". It tries to address universal themes of alienation, self-worth, and community, with likeable, but non-synpathetic characters.Conrad Hall's (absolutely essential Panavision) photography is the best I have seen in a very long time.The performances are uniformally excellent, while the seething/guilty core of Chris Cooper's Sgt. Fitz is a wonder to behold. Also Alison Janney says so much without saying much at all.This is a great examination of American paranoia; a pre-9/11 post 9/11 film.I always put this as the (more acceptable) flip-side to "Happiness". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Penna 3,673 Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Always liked this film, and *love* Newman's score.Wasn't aware of any particular backlash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcus 390 Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I was actually about to mention Solondz' "Happiness"! I agree completely about the link between the two, although Solondz pushes the boundaries even further, and insists on humanity and dignity even for someone who truly does commit an awful crime (unlike American Beauty's main protagonist).What I love about both films, and find very refreshing, is their amorality (not immorality), and unwillingness to judge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naïve Old Fart 9,504 Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I was actually about to mention Solondz' "Happiness"! I agree completely about the link between the two, although Solondz pushes the boundaries even further, and insists on humanity and dignity even for someone who truly does commit an awful crime (unlike American Beauty's main protagonist).What I love about both films, and find very refreshing, is their amorality (not immorality), and unwillingness to judge.THIS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bespin 8,480 Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Disliked the movie, it's just a bunch of american clichés... The closeted gay... pfff, that killed me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkissimo 1,973 Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Solondz's HAPPINESS (along with the rest of his work) puts Alan Ball's simplified, naive spiel to shame. That said, Tom Newman's score is wonderful and like with ROAD TO PERDITION and REVOLUTIONARY, I prefer to listen to in isolation, forgetting about the (disappointing) film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHouseholdCat 4 Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Disliked the movie, it's just a bunch of american clichés... The closeted gay... pfff, that killed me.For me the strength of the film is between the lines. The satire alone would just be a satire. It wouldn't be as memorable.What I love about the film are the aesthetics. The cinematography and the score are both very minimalist. Both add so much to the film.It has become one of my favourite films. Every time I watch it again... It still hasn't lost any of its value.On the surface it might appear to be just another 90s flick. But the subtext and the way that the film draws in the viewer make it so worthwhile to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uni 306 Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Disliked the movie, it's just a bunch of american clichés... The closeted gay... pfff, that killed me.He did the same to Kevin Spacey. . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,326 Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Disliked the movie, it's just a bunch of american clichés... The closeted gay... pfff, that killed me. For me the strength of the film is between the lines. The satire alone would just be a satire. It wouldn't be as memorable. What I love about the film are the aesthetics. The cinematography and the score are both very minimalist. Both add so much to the film. It has become one of my favourite films. Every time I watch it again... It still hasn't lost any of its value. On the surface it might appear to be just another 90s flick. But the subtext and the way that the film draws in the viewer make it so worthwhile to me. I agree. Easily one of the best flicks of the '90s. A lot of things come wonderfully together: Alan Ball's writing, Sam Mendes' direction, the characters, the acting, the use of the score, ... everything actually. It's a movie with a high revisiting value. Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bespin 8,480 Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Disliked the movie, it's just a bunch of american clichés... The closeted gay... pfff, that killed me.For me the strength of the film is between the lines. The satire alone would just be a satire. It wouldn't be as memorable.What I love about the film are the aesthetics. The cinematography and the score are both very minimalist. Both add so much to the film.It has become one of my favourite films. Every time I watch it again... It still hasn't lost any of its value.On the surface it might appear to be just another 90s flick. But the subtext and the way that the film draws in the viewer make it so worthwhile to me.I agree. Easily one of the best flicks of the '90s. A lot of things come wonderfully together: Alan Ball's writing, Sam Mendes' direction, the characters, the acting, the use of the score, ... everything actually. It's a movie with a high revisiting value.AlexThe aesthetics?Roses overs boobs doesn't appeal to me, sorry guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkissimo 1,973 Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Aesthetically the film is stunning, thanks to the late Conrad Hall. That said, I find the writing glib and sensationalistic, designed to shock the audience but not let them think. About as a intellectually fraudulent as your average Michael Moore doc. See Towelhead for another equally noxious (re)take on American suburbia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bespin 8,480 Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 Aesthetically the film is stunning, thanks to the late Conrad Hall. That said, I find the writing glib and sensationalistic, designed to shock the audience but not let them think. About as a intellectually fraudulent as your average Michael Moore doc. See Towelhead for another equally noxious (re)take on American suburbia.Great thing that this movie shocked the average american, but as I gay canadian man, I saw in this movie all the american clichés about sex and repressed homosexuality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joni Wiljami 1,206 Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 I'm sad you didn't get this brilliant movie just because of this gay issue.Only thing I don't like in this masterful film is Annette Bening's performance, it's way too much. Fortunately not Meryl-Streep-kind-of too much but stil.But maybe Sam made it on purpose, to balance the whole opera, clever man he is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A24 4,326 Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 Strange, you people were shocked? I was amused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkissimo 1,973 Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 Of course you were. You're a Haneke fan, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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