Starring Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Peter Gallagher, Wes Bentley, and Mena Suvari
Provoked by forbidden passions, Lester Burnham (Spacey) decides to make a few changes in his rut of a life, changes that are less midlife crisis than adolescence reborn. The freer he gets, the happier he gets, which is even more maddening to his wife, Carolyn (Bening), and daughter Jane (Birch) --especially when he turns his lustful gaze toward Jane's friend, the sultry Angela (Suvari). (Dreamworks SKG)
An outing with Elk and Foo last-last week provoked me to start thinking about this movie I watched on the plane last month, on the flight back from Switzerland. I think it's an absolutely smashing film, weaving so many different subplots so beautifully around a single main plot...everything just fits together so perfectly in the end like a jigsaw puzzle. I'm not gonna bore you with the explicit details about what goes on in the movie, but if you're interested you can google 'American Beauty' and see what you get, or better still try and get a copy of the DVD or VCD and see what everyone's been raving about, and why this film won Best Picture at the 1999 Academy Awards.
Elk was telling me that the movie made her realise how much people just want to be loved. Kevin Spacey and Annette Benning play a married couple who are trapped in a loveless union, and they each look towards other people for the affection and passion they so desire. Then there's that homophobic ex-military man (whose name escaped me) who's actually a closet homosexual, but disowns his only son because he thinks he's having a gay relationship with Spacey's character, and THEN looks Spacey up and tries to snog him. There're many other examples in the movie which explore our innate, maybe even DESPERATE desires for love and acceptance (calibrated according to our own strange standards, probably.) , which drive us to do stupid things we regret afterwards. To me, above everything else, there also seems to be an underlying message that tells us that we don't always get second chances in life. In the end, Spacey's character starts to think about his family and there's this dangling glimmer of hope that he may perhaps attempt to reunite his family......before the gay military guy looks him up and blows his brains out. His death is the cherry on top of the whole sundae of tragedy, I guess. How the control freak Annette Benning allows her obsessive desires for success and perfection to make her loose control over her own sanity, how the Jane the angsty gothic teen finds solace and companionship in her weed-smoking boyfriend with a habit of filming random objects---like plastic bags being tossed about in the wind---how Angela tells everyone about the numerous sexual experiences she has when she's actually a frightened, confused virgin......it’s a symphony of misfits, which in the end, climaxes at Spacey's demise. Along the way, the film also explores many issues that have afflicted America (and the world) since godknowswhen but have become more prominent ever since the advances in technology and media trends followed the advent of the 21st centu...like homosexuality, the impact of the media on you...and THEN we are reminded that despite all these changes, and more to come, we are all essentially still very much human. Whether it's 18th, 19th, 20...or even 33th century, it'll be hard for us humans to escape our own inner demons. Such is the magic of films like the...they have a way of bringing in reality and socking you in the face with it.
Maybe we're all misfits in our own right…maybe this world is indeed one gigantuan (Ka Fai’s word) symphony of misfit individuals, each with their own quirks and weird characteristics. The big question here is, who’s the conductor of this whole symphony? Everyday as I commute to work in the wee hours of the morning, I’m hit by the wave of stress that’s conveyed by the morning rush hour. Occasionally I can’t be arsed to engage in any complex, stimulating, thought provoking attempts to comprehend the way the world works, but sometimes I find myself wondering for the billionth time whether these people know what they’re actually rushing for. I mean, of course they’re definitely the go-getters who are CRYSTAL clear about what they want to accomplish in this life, but somehow I get the feeling everyone is rushing ‘just because’. It’s like some people are still trying to figure things out but are worried that they will get left behind in the rat race if they just hit pause for a sec. So they just carry on running and running, in a manner that’s not unlike hamsters running on wheels within a cage. Yesterday’s conversation with The Bass also included my personal experiences with elite schools, and how they don’t necessarily make a difference. I think it’s the tragedy of Singapore’s youth, the way young ignorant children are shuffled from elite school to elite school (some parents are particular about PRE-SCHOOL options; don’t get me started.) and how their minds and spirits are molded by the competitive and harsh environment that exists in most top institutions. I’m not saying we shouldn’t send our kids to elite schools; obviously parents do it for the sake of their kids, hoping that it will pave a smoother road to a bright, promising future. I’m saying that elite schools may not NECESSARILY be the best for every child.
Okay, I think that’s enough rambling for one morning. Anyway, I woke up at 6 a.m. this morning, my mind filled with thoughts about yesterday.
I think it’s mainly a physical thing. Bloody hormones.
I think.
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I thrive on temporary highs.
Neurosis is my middle name.
