Obsession, passion, desire, curiosity, loneliness. the quest to feel. look closer. there are many things in life that are found beynd the surface of things. we have to look closer. this film challenges us to do so. not just in the film but in life. there are some things that are hidden deep within the human perona that we rarely get to see in cinema. this give us a chance. if i were to show a five year old, not that i would, they would be able to pick up much deeper and richer aspects of the film than adults would be able to. this is becuse there minds have not been sabatoged by life and expirience. they are able to look beyond and understand the deep meaning of life; they just don't know how to express it. we can't express it because we are overwhelmed with the severity and importance of the film. it's indescribable. i'm even having trouble doing so. im not really sure what happened in the film and i've seen it four times. yes i know the story but what actually happened. it gave me a feeling like at the end of Sofia Coppola's quiet masterpeice "Lost in Translation". it seems that nothing happened, but more happened in both of these films than in the 3.5 hours of "Ben-Hur" of 1959 not that it is a bad film. it just explored humans. this film takes a few times, like 'Translation', to really understand. the writer of the film Alan Ball has really not done much after this or to this extent i should say. it is something Bergman would have done because he gets the subject. in fact Bergman called this film and "Magnolia" modern-day masterpeices.
We have Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey). he is a deeply depressed and bored suburban man who's job as an advertising executive sucks and he has no life. his wife, Carolyn (Annette Bening) is a phony and a fake. she is a real-estate consultant she is a rude and belittleing woman who in public seems sweet and caring; but we can all tell that's bullshit. there marriage was once something but now is nothing. they sleep on opposite sides of the bed, they hardly talk to each other on a human level and if they do talk to each other, it goes into a huge agressive argument. there is not one scene of intamacy throughout the whole film. she is having an affair with the sexy, succesful real-estate competition who in turn make her feel succesful just for seeing him. their daughter, Jane (Thora Birch) is descent-looking, and bored out of her mind as well. she is a cheerleader, minus the cheer. she just goes through the motions. she's a bit of a goth. her friend Angela (Mena Suvari) is the gorgeous but slutty type who Lester falls in love with immeadiatly in an ingenious little cheerleading scene towards the beginning of the film. she takes to him as well. she loves attention but we learn later that she is not as expirienced as she positions herself to be. the new neighbors, the Fitts, are another case of sheer bordom. the father was in the marine core and takes tumultious pride out of it. his wife is a distant woman who is so out of it, you could call her name and she woudn't respond. their son is a drug dealer; and makes a lot for what he does. he becomes obsessed with Jane and often records her from his porch or bedroom window. Angela taunts him and makes much fun of him but Jane finds something in him. at first she is creeped out as any human being would be, but she likes it. he is not ordinary and not full of shit like everyone around her. she feels alive again. there is our obssesion all over the place. everyone has a desire to break out of thier phony lives and feel something again. and if you notice, other than Mr. Fitts, no one really does anything about it. for example, Lester doesn't beat Carolyn up when he finds out about the affair. everyone is to focused on their new way of life. trying to find beauty again; and most of them are so incredibly close to that one brief touch of venus.
For some, this is a depressing and harsh film to watch. i find it rather comforting to know that someone out there is still thinking about people. something current i mean. i am still trying to find what the film is really and truly about. Kevin Spacey's performance was one of the greatest of all tme. he ws perfect. i hear Leaster Burnham i think Kevin Spacey. that's how he embodied or became the character. he was a super-hero. fearless and brave. every scene with him in it was a scene of power and beauty. at the beginning he could have been called weak but his strength came once he had something to work for again; just like a super-hero. Annette Beniing should have won the Oscar over Hilary Swank in "Boys Don't Cry". Swank was very good but Bening was astounding. she had it. the mantras and the self-motivational talks and the self-detriment were all so realisticaly constructed. she was brutally cruel to everyone around her, herself included. she was so cold, and so good at being cold. everyone else was good. Chris Cooper who had an exellent Oscar winning performance in "Adaptation" was fantastic in this as well. he had a beautiful scene towards the end that was shocking but just shows how much he needed someone. the film won an Oscar for the screenplay as it should have. it is one of the greatest of all time. the cinematography to one might be simple but they are so detailed. they are done so deftly by an expert-Conrad L. Hall who won the Oscar. the shots were so vibrant and filled with, yes, beauty. again an aging Ingmar Bergman saw this and "Magnolia" and loved them both. that is what i'll be doing- an aging director still watching modern-day films. whenn i first saw it i really did not get it. i needed a second viewing, like i did for 1942's "Casablanca"; i just didnt get it. Then i noticed, in a way, this is a children's film. We are challenged to do something we should already do. Just focus on all the beauty in life, and let it overwhelm and inundate you. Look Closer.
| Academy Awards, USA | |||
| Year | Result | Award | Category/Recipient(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Won | Oscar | Best Actor in a Leading Role Kevin Spacey |
| Best Cinematography Conrad L. Hall | |||
| Best Director Sam Mendes | |||
| Best Picture Bruce Cohen Dan Jinks | |||
| Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen Alan Ball | |||
| Nominated | Oscar | Best Actress in a Leading Role Annette Bening | |
| Best Editing Tariq Anwar Christopher Greenbury | |||
| Best Music, Original Score Thomas Newman | |||
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