*** SPOILER ALERT ***
*** SPOILER ALERT ***
Much has been said regarding the relative merits of "American Beauty" from a
cinematic perspective.
"American Beauty" was a
polarizing film in my
social circle. The first level of
polarization was "loved it" vs. "hated it." This was not surprising as, the movie was definitely
pushing buttons left and right.
What was more interesting was the wide variety of
emotional states described by the "loved it" crowd (which includes myself) after
Lester's execution. The "This is Your Life"
post-mortem segment seemed to engender very different feelings among my
friends.
One camp felt that the
juxtaposition of the
heartwarming (
please note that the customary sarcasm that attends this word is not intended here) review of the joys of
Lester's life with his untimely death was too much of a taunting jibe reminding us and him of the
paradise that was lost.
The other camp felt that
Lester's realization that his life was already
redolent of
rose petals and other
precious flowers was an experience that transcended the tragedy of his
death.
There were a few
ambivalent squatters between the two camps that couldn't decide if the
key were
major or
minor, feeling tugs in both directions.
This
dichotomy has, for us, spawned more discussion of "American Beauty" than any plot point or character development alone.