American Beauty analysis

A key scene in American beauty follows when Lester and his family sit down for a family meal. This scene tells a lot about the family and their situation, aswell as Lesters character as a whole. To begin with, the camera is very slowly zooming in on the family as they eat their dinner – highlighting the feeling of the audience intruding on this personal experience. The way this makes the audience feel also emphasises the awkwardness between the family and so adds to building a sense of what each character is like. Interestingly, another point is the music that is playing in the background - very sophisticated and classy, so clearly put on by the mother - which shows how she Is intent on living a perfect life and so reflects her strong demeanour. On the other hand, the music she plays is rather old which could also reflect how she likes to reminisce on the past because she misses it. We see photos of the family happy though from the past, though now they live a strained and depressive life, therefore stating how she likes to remember all aspects of her past.  

Once we move onto the family eating we are met with some factors from the Mise en scene that have correlated throughout the film. The most obvious, is the use of colour which is a red, white and blue theme, seen in the roses, walls and napkins. These colours are based off the American flag and the ideology of a happy American lifestyle. The way this is done follows Carolyn’s character and the way in which she puts on an act almost to make the family seem perfect when deep down so much is wrong. Something also to be noted, is the clothing of both parents; Carolyn wearing rather colourful and pretty clothing, though Lester is accompanied with bland and dull clothing, a clear reflection of his personality.

Also, another point about this dinner is when Carolyn begins to shout at Lester and how he reacts to it. He is firstly shown sitting very hunched and low as opposed to his wife, though when shouted at he simply hangs his head and mutters under his breath, much like a child and therefore proves he is not alpha male to his wife. The fact this is true shows how weak Lester is that he can’t even argue with his wife but once again shows just how dominant Carolyn is and that she is the one who almost control the family – a role switch of the two parents. The way his posture is lower is also seen as he sulks away into the kitchen like a child being sent to their room.

Finally, we see a new character introduced in this part of the film. We see a filtered camera shot of Lester and his daughter arguing outside the window – with the camera having matched the same filter we saw at the start of the film, done to try and build a connection amongst the audience. Though, when we see him we get a close shot of his face and you see a look of intrigue and confusion spread across his face in a cold and eerie way. A bold way to introduce the person.