Tuesday, April 21, 2020
American Beauty (1999)
Synopsis
After his death sometime in his forty-third year,
suburbanite Lester Burnham tells of the last few weeks of his life,
during which he had no idea of his imminent passing. He is a husband to
real estate agent Carolyn Burnham and father to high school student
Janie Burnham. Although Lester and Carolyn once loved each other, they
now merely tolerate each other. Typical wallflower Janie too hates both
her parents, the three who suffer individually in silence in their home
life. Janie tries to steer clear of both her parents. Carolyn,
relatively new to the real estate business, wants to create the persona
of success to further her career, she aspiring to the professional life
of Buddy Kane, the king of the real estate business in their
neighborhood. Lester merely walks mindlessly through life, including at
his job in advertising. His company is downsizing, and he, like all the
other employees, has to justify his position to the newly hired
efficiency expert to keep his job. Things change ...
