Lester Burnham:
Very lazy
Dissapointed with life
Submissive
Treated like a child
Bored
Wife controls him and is the man of the house
Wife and daughter are disappointed in him
Given up on life
Pessimistic
Likes his daughter
Expresses regret 'It wasn't always like this'
Trapped
American Beauty Notes:
Family is a cliche
White and creams used
Neutral, bland colours helps creat and atmosphere, links to Lester as he is a boring dull person and so are the colours and makes the bright colours stand out more, so you focus on them more
Red and blue stand out, like the American flag
Rose is significant in the film as its always used e.g. Daughters top
Bedroom is neat and tidy
Red door, red and blue paper, blue windows
Various things show hes trapped:
- Windows
- Computer
- Shower
Music is very repetative like Lesters life
Family Hirachy:
Mother acts like the controller when really its sterotyped that the father is the controlling one. She drives the car and is ready first. This stereotypes her as the man of the house.
Daughter treats the father like a child and acts as if shes disappointed in him and has control over him
Father is at the bottom and looked down on, it is a contrast of the norm
Mise en Scene:
Red roses used again, blue vase used and everything else in the room is neutral. Uses the American flag colours throughout the whole film and also the use of roses in the middle of the table uses the roses throughout the film aswell. Lester is sitting on a smaller chair to the daughter and the mother showing he is like the child of the family and showing they have power over him. The use of dull colours present a dull atmosphere in the room. The trapped effect is used again when the watcher is looking at Lester through the window. The watcher has blue eyes continuing the blue effect used in the film.
Camera Work:
It starts with a long shot and slowley zooms in as a close up of the family. It has an effect that the family are being watched. It uses an establishing shot. The image that the daughter is in between the two shows that she is keeping the famiy together and if she werent there there wouldn't be a family.
Digetic sound and non digetic sound:
The music makes you feel sympathetic f.sue she chooses what they listen to at the dinner table. The song that they listen to is Bali Hai from the South Pacific and is a very old fashioned song and it shows that they are trapped in the past as they keep listening to old fashioned music. The film also uses slow and sad music which makes you feel sorry for the characters and also uses creepy music when Lester is being watched so it makes you feel creeped out. The creepy music sounds like a lullaby.
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