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American-Beauty. Dissect this movie - Understand it's structure. American-Beauty by JeffNewman Why not print this great article out for reading on the sofa, with your favourite drink in hand... A Non-Traditional Structure For details of his script evaluation service, contact Jeff at storynotes@aol.com Alan Ball's screenplay for AMERICAN-BEAUTY won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay of 1999, and the film won Best Picture. He also received the Writers Guild of America award for best original screenplay. The film earned mixed but mostly positive reviews -- some of them rhapsodic. The public responded well, in terms of voting with their dollars. American-Beauty brought in 130 million dollars domestically, making it the 13th highest-grossing film of its year. When peer groups who give out awards, critics, and the public respond in this way, clearly there must be some quality to be seen and studied. American-Beauty.Even for those who did not care for the movie as much as others, it is worthy of study, since it was so admired and so well received by so many. So let's examine this film for its structure. It's an offbeat, highly individual film. It clearly doesn't adhere, at least not strictly, to traditional Hollywood structure. How much does it use? When it departs from traditional techniques, how does it compensate -- -or does it? As with the other articles in this series, since this is primarily a structural critique, I won't be commenting on the directing, editing, music, or the cinematography -- which in this film was often stunning. Nor will we discuss the acting. Even the dialogue in American-Beauty will be glossed over. We'll focus on plot events, some aspects of characterization (including the orchestration of characters and character arcs), and theme. PREMISE/CONCEPT in American-Beauty "The individual members of a dysfunctional, joyless family struggle to find happiness and to connect with others." While there is somewhat more focus on Lester than on the other characters, there is quite a bit of focus on Jane (his daughter), Ricky (the boy-next-door, Jane's new boyfriend, and a friend of sorts to Lester), and Carolyn (Lester's wife, Jane's mom). Given that quite a few scenes -- about half, when added together -- don't feature Lester at all, while it can be said he's the main character (he provides the narration, he's the first character we see, and it's his death that we've been leading toward), still, we really couldn't say that this movie is about Lester and his problems, desires, and goals. The other characters are too important, and we spend so much time with them, and their problems, desires, and goals -- that we really can't say that this is a story primarily about Lester. It's an ensemble story. American-Beauty. Thus, the premise of the film isn't something like "A middle-aged man -- disillusioned with his life, feeling cut-off from his wife and child, and who feels nearly dead -- struggles to take control of his life and to find some happiness." That's true for Lester. And it's closer to what the premise for a more traditionally structured film would be (although most films would have a more specific problem and/or goal within the premise). But in this film, the focus is on the whole family -- plus Ricky. This is about a family -- two families, really -- whose lives have derailed. They are lonely, frustrated, and miserable. They have been fooled into thinking that the American Dream involves materialism and status, and that these things will provide joy. The members of these families feel alone -- they don't connect with, or relate to, anyone in any kind of meaningful way. They project an image that belies the reality. They have secrets that they strain mightily not to reveal. So these are two unhappy families whose lives are empty, superficial, lonely, false, and joyless. The story is about those individuals, and the efforts they make -- wise or not, successful or otherwise -- to improve their situation. In artistically and commercially unsuccessful screenplays, the premise is either unclear, or simply lacking in interest. It's too silly or too mundane. In this case, the premise is quite clear, and it informs the movie. It acts as a throughline. And even though this premise is far more serious and somber than what is seen in most mainstream films, it certainly is fascinating and thought-provoking. ORCHESTRATION OF CHARACTERS in American-Beauty In a well-orchestrated cast, there is a blend of similarities and opposites, as well as a few traits that are merely different -- individually distinctive. Here, the similarities are nearly overwhelming. All the major characters (except Ricky, and to a lesser degree, Jane) fight hard to project a false image. Appearances do not match reality. They have secrets. They are unhappy -- either intensely miserable and frustrated, or emotionally deadened. They feel alone. So, how are these characters different? While Lester has accepted his rut, his seeming lot in life, and adopted a sedated attitude (until events in the story prompt him to do otherwise), his wife Carolyn struggles mightily to seem -- and to try to make herself be -- joyful, cheerful, even giddy. Since this is so utterly false, and requires so much energy to do, when she is alone, she often gives way to tears, frustration, and wretched misery. And their daughter Jane takes yet another approach. She withdraws. She sneers at what she doesn't like now and then, but otherwise just keeps a low profile, trying not to draw attention to herself. Ricky contrasts the most. While he, too, projects a false image and keeps secrets, it's mainly just to his father. He's quite open with Jane and with Lester. And while the Burnham family, and his own parents, are wallowing in misery, Ricky has been able to find moments of bliss, and to see beauty in things that others would see as merely mundane or even ugly. Plus, the others tend to buy into social conventions and the allure of materialism. Ricky, on the other hand, sees beneath the surface. He sees past deceptive appearances and outward show. Other contrasts: Carolyn is very on-the-nose with her criticisms and insults. They are direct, obvious, and not too imaginative. Lester criticizes less than she does, and when he does, it's often rather clever, either in substance or in delivery. He has a witty, snide, ironic slant to his put-downs. Jane makes do with rolling her eyes and a few quick disparaging remarks. Angela -- Jane's friend, and the object of Lester's dreams -- feels quite free to criticize, and in a manner much like Carolyn's -- in a direct, obvious, and superficial manner. And Ricky, unless severely provoked, simply doesn't criticize others freely, much less mock or ridicule. When he does criticize, it's brief, perceptive, and incisive, as when he sees his father for who he is, and says it aloud to him, or when he silences Angela with the truth. Carolyn is emotional. Lester is (at first) emotionally repressed -- as is Jane. And in general -- until he starts to change, Carolyn takes center stage, dominating and shining, while he fades into the background. People don't remember meeting him. Angela is outgoing and emotionally in-between the emotional Carolyn and the comparatively repressed or withdrawn natures of Lester and Jane. Ricky is a quiet young man, but not repressed or withdrawn. He's thoughtful. And, except to his father, he's genuine -- the only person of the main characters to be so. The other principal character -- Colonel Fitts, Ricky's dad -- shares some traits with the others. He's emotional and he's repressed. He keeps secrets. He projects a false image. Like Carolyn, he criticizes openly, unimaginatively, and bluntly -- but not just with his mouth, but with his fists. We wonder -- if she were a man -- maybe she would, too. There's a strong parallel situation when she slaps her daughter for displeasing her and being ungrateful and then, moments later, the Colonel storms into Ricky's room and strikes him hard, twice, in the face. All in all, these characters are very well orchestrated. They share just enough traits -- more than enough, perhaps -- to attract our attention and to make it plausible that they are a coherent group with some shared interests, traits, or values, and that can, to a degree, relate with and understand each other. But they provide enough direct and sharp contrasts so as to provide variety, and to help us notice that certain traits are opposite to each other. And a trait or value will be best noticed when paired with its opposite. In American-Beauty some may feel that some of the characters don't sufficiently seem like flesh-and-blood people -- that to too large a degree, they are walking symbols and archetypes, more than they are manifestations of real people. And until near the middle, you could indeed make that case regarding Jane, and until near the end, about Lester and Angela. And perhaps even until the very end about Carolyn and Colonel Fitts. And to many, Colonel Fitts came off not just as a symbol or an archetype, but a full-fledged stereotype. He's a right-wing military man who loves guns and hates gays -- and then, it turns out he is homophobic since he is secretly, latently gay himself, and he hates himself, and "them," for it. This is, indeed, quite a stereotype. And not an accurate one, either. Few men in the military spend lots of time watching old war or military movies -- on occasion, sure, like many others. But not frequently -- they get enough of it in daily life. And few love guns. To most military folk, guns are tools to be respected and used to perform the mission. But not to obsess over or cherish. Military men are no more or less likely than others to be anti-gay. And for those men -- in and out of the military -- who do hate homosexuals, it's only rarely due to their own repressed homosexuality. It's not true that most gay haters are like that because they are secretly gay themselves and are trying to cover it up, or are overcompensating for it, or turning their inward disgust outward. That reasoning would mean that most bigotry stems from a fear, disgust, and lack of acceptance about that condition within oneself. And yet most people who hate those of another religion, say, Catholics, are not secretly Catholic themselves, nor fearful that they are or might be. Most people who are racial bigots aren't trying to cover for the fact they are 1/8th black, or whatever, or that they fear they might be. No. People who are bigoted against other religions and/or races -- and there are many such people -- are usually like that because they are ignorant and mean-spirited, and/or because they have been taught to be that way. The same is true with those who are bigoted against gays. Ricky's mother is another character who, though not a stereotype, hardly seems like a real person. She seems to be the epitome -- a symbol of -- the repressed, depressed, emotionally and possibly physically abused housewife. She doesn't come off as an individual. She stands for some real people, but she doesn't seem like a real person herself. Therefore, many would argue that the characterization in this film could have been better. That it would have been stronger with characters who seemed like real people at an earlier point, rather than symbols and/or archetypes, and if there had been no stereotypes. It does indeed take quite some time to really believe in these characters. It takes quite a while to start caring about some of them. It takes a long time for them to start acting like real, three-dimensional, complex, flesh-and-blood human beings. Perhaps that was the intent. Maybe this was meant to be satirical, ironic, and stylized, and they were meant to be archetypes and symbols of certain types of people and values, rather than seem real. This makes the film difficult to fully appreciate for many (myself included). Only near the end do we really believe in and start to care about some of the characters, such as Lester and Angela. Luckily, we came to believe and care about Jane and Ricky much earlier. And therefore, no doubt many viewers wished that those two were the central characters of the film. But quality of characterization is subjective. And to a large degree, non-structural. In terms of a structural analysis of American-Beauty the quality of the characterization is somewhat incidental. What matters most, structurally, is if the Orchestration of Characters is solid -- and it is -- and if at least one of the main characters has any kind of arc. And here, several characters do. More on that later. American-Beauty. UNITY OF OPPOSITES in American-Beauty What unites these characters, despite their differences and conflicts? What keeps them involved with and interacting with one another? For the Burnhams, the answer is simple: they are a family. The daughter is still a minor, so of course she will be living with one or both parents. The married couple no longer have much love for one another, nor are they physically intimate. They have emotionally shut one another out. So why remain together? Until she begins an affair with Buddy, she probably doesn't think there's anything much better out there. He feels too "sedated" to pursue an affair ... until he becomes enamored of Angela. Plus, they care about convention, and the opinions of others. They want to project the image of a normal, happy couple and family. The Fittses remain together during the course of the film (until Ricky leaves, near the end) because they, too, are a family. These parents, too -- especially the father -- care about appearances, and about projecting a "normal" image. Jane and Angela are bound by the fact that they are friends: they are the same age, go to the same school, and have some common interests/activities, mainly cheerleading. No doubt Jane feels flattered that a good-looking and popular girl like Angela likes her. Angela likes having someone who looks up to her (or seems to), who she can brag to and seemingly confide to, and to whom she can feel superior (by being with somebody who looks rather ordinary, Angela will appear that much more attractive). Jane and Ricky are "united" partly due to the fact he lives next door (and goes to school with her). Beyond that, they share many values. She is impressed by his confidence, his depth, his sensitivity. And she is gladdened that he likes her so much, and sees the beauty within her. Colonel Fitts is tied to Lester partly due to living next door, and mainly due to his concern and suspicion that Lester is paying Ricky to have sex with him. While this angers Colonel Fitts, he also becomes attracted to Lester because of this, due to his own latent homosexuality. And when Lester spurns his advances (although nicely), Fitts is humiliated and shamed. And now that Lester knows his secret, it's likely that that's the reason Fitts feels that Lester must die -- partly due to the rejection, partly the anger regarding his son, but mainly wanting to blot out the one person who knows the truth about himself (Fitts). The Secret must be preserved and "honor" maintained. So the Unity of Opposites among the characters is very strong in this screenplay. There are many ties that bind them together, and quite strongly, too. FORESHADOWING & PLANTING in American-Beauty. Lester's death at the end of the story isn't merely foreshadowed; it's foretold. Given the structure and development in the first half of the screenplay, this was a wise move. That will be discussed later. When Colonel Fitts searches Ricky's room and sees the video tape his son took of Lester pumping iron, this establishes his suspicions that "something's not right" between Lester and his son. Earlier, in a car conversation regarding the "two Jims," it's clear that homosexuality is a hot-button issue with this guy. And again, when Fitts sees his son leave for school with Jane, he observes Lester motion Ricky to "call me." This motivates Fitts to spy on his son when he goes over to the Burnhams, supposedly to return a book to Jane. He sees Lester give money to Ricky, and, from a limited angle of view, he sees Ricky giving pot to Lester and rolling a joint, and assumes that what's happening is that Ricky is sexually "servicing" Lester. He jumps to wrong conclusions. He is fooled by outward, limited appearances. All told, these events both plant and foreshadow the fact that Fitts kills Lester. Angela's abhorrence of being thought "ordinary," disclosed in conversation with Jane, lays the groundwork for her being so upset when Ricky tells her that she is ordinary (and ugly). Without the earlier mentions of this, her reaction would puzzle us. Death itself is foreshadowed several other times beyond the opening statements. Ricky videotapes a dead bird. A funeral motorcade passes them when they're walking home. He tells her of a homeless woman who froze to death, and that he taped. These serve to remind us of Lester's impending death, and make the death seem more fitting. When Ricky quits his job, that acts as a catalyst for Lester in quitting his job a few scenes later. And since we're meant to speculate on who is going to be the one to kill Lester, it's important that someone besides Colonel Fitts has access to a gun. If, near the end, Carolyn had decided "I will no longer be a victim," and had produced a heretofore unseen gun, we would have groaned. Instead, the gun was planted. Buddy stimulates her interest in shooting. Thus, there's a plausible reason she has a gun and knows how to use it, and a plausible reason that it's handy when helpful to the story. The author took the time to plant the gun -- and not just a page or few pages before it was used. GOAL Unlike most Hollywood movies, this story is not centered around an overall, ongoing Main Goal set or accepted by a main character. Instead of one Main Goal, this story is propelled by several goals and subgoals of several characters, and by Lester's Inner Need. Lester, as the narrator and the most-seen character, is the main character. He has several goals, but none that are so clear and specific and difficult as to qualify for a typical Main Goal. Nor are his goals something that he is highly focused on and which he pursues the majority of the time he is seen starting from the "End of Act 1" on. Instead, the main character throughline is based on the pursuit of an Inner Need. Lester needs to feel alive again. He needs to connect with others again emotionally -- especially his wife and daughter.
Approximate Word count = 12623
Approximate Pages = 50.5
(250 words per page double spaced)
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