Look closer. Closer still.
The message of American Beauty is so obvious and stressed, that it is not only ludicrous, but unsatisfying. Sam Mendes, the director, uses consistent push-in shots to force the audience to look closer at the wrongs in the American Dream, ridiculing and punishing it to an extent where they feel a disconnect. The film is blatant, irreverent and makes strong points about what it means to be a suburban, middle-class American of the late 1990s. Mendes' overuse of push-in shots and dull dialogue, as well as lighting are mainly responsible for this disconnect and dissatisfaction.
The push-in shot is great for guiding the audience to a point of focus, whether it be a figure walking down the street or the iris of an eye. Mendes uses the push-in technique to box the audience in to a proximity of discomfort, to reinforce the message to look closer at the reality of the American Dream. An example of this is in both dinner scenes at Jane's house, where Lester and Carolyn are seated opposite each other, and Jane is centred between them. There is an obvious distance placed between them, as their characters don't feel comfortable close to one another. This is seen most between Carolyn and Lester, as they cannot be honest and regard each other in hate and fear. The push-in is used in most scenes of the film; the close-up of the door to Carolyn's open home, the close-up through Ricky's camera as he is filming Jane, Lester, and other things he considers beauteous, to the point where the audience is bombarded by the same message and feels unsatisfied watching the film. The expectation of enjoyment and the connection between the audience and characters are lost because of the overuse of the push-in camera technique. Sam Mendes' comparable film, Revolutionary Road, demonstrates a more mature, subtle use of push-in to portray the theme. Despite being part of his auteur, Revolutionary Road is arguably much more effective in retaining a connection between the audience and characters, while still maintaining the same level of discomfort.
Mendes also invokes dissatisfaction with his use of dialogue. American Beauty is more satirical on the lifestyle of suburban Americans, whereas Revolutionary Road confronts the problems faced with a tone of seriousness. The dialogue is simple but delivered with a lack of sincereness and discontent that disconnects the audience from the screen. For instance, Lester's discontent with his life is clear when he says, "You were great, Janey" when congratulating his daughter on the opening cheerleading dance for her highschool basketball team. The dialogue feels forced most of the time and very often gives the sense that its true purpose is to fill time. Mendes very openly and blatantly discredits American life, and ridicules the lifestyle that people of the American Dream generation have chosen to live. He does this to an extent where the audience feels disconnected and dissatisfied, as most of their lifestyles are openly denigrated.
Lighting in American Beauty is not as subtle as it could be to portray the message. Often the contrast is too great, especially at the dinner scene, where Lester and Carolyn are completely untouched by candlelight and Jane's face is completely underlit. Often the image is blurred and the focus is not always clear, as the lighting is not always harmonious with the context of what is on screen. Also through Ricky's camera, even though it is used to reinforce his own search for beauty, the lack of lighting makes it harder for audiences to discern the subject of focus.
Although considered his debut film, Sam Mendes' American Beauty makes the message timeless but unsatisfying. It uses consistent push-in shots, dull dialogue as well as lighting to force the audience to look closer at the wrongs in the American Dream, ridiculing and punishing it to an extent where they feel a disconnect.
Ryan Aranyi
