American Beauty

Production and year: USA, 2000 Original title: American Beauty Genre: Drama, comedy Director: Sam Mendes Screenplay: Alan Ball Cast: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Mena Suvari, Wes Bentley Medical topic: histrionic personality disorder Description: Most of us probably associate the film "American Beauty" with a deeply reflective portrayal of life, centered on the main character, Lester (Spacey), who is going through a so-called "midlife crisis." The true “star” of this film (and that is no coincidence) is Lester’s wife, Carolyn (Benning), a real estate agent. Her behavior is constantly theatrical and extravagant, and her speech is both colorful and vague. Problems at work and with her husband provide her with many opportunities for exaggerated emotional expression. She treats Lester as a not-very-useful accessory to her beautiful home; she doesn’t sleep with him, but she’s happy to have an affair with a friend from work. One scene that sticks in the memory is when Lester, lying in bed next to Carolyn, masturbates to satisfy his physiological needs. His wife’s reaction at that moment is priceless. It perfectly illustrates this character’s nature and his social dysfunction. Just like most of the situations that follow after Lester “rebels.” The film features many characters with rich psychological profiles and interesting quirks. However, I get the impression that at least half of them have been exaggerated and caricatured. The character of Carolyn is different—internally consistent from beginning to end.