Obsession highlights new film

A family of three - one happy dad, mom and daughter - in a big white house with a pretty red door in the "ideal" family neighborhood.

Look closer.

Dad is in a constant, deep depression. Mom displays a constant perfect image on the outside when she suffers from emotional chaos on the inside. Their sweet daughter looms lonely with hatred for her parents and questions of self-assurance.

Look closer.

Dad starts to obsess over daughter's best school friend. He becomes disillusioned with sexual fantasies, trying to free himself from a common, depressing life of a normal 40-year-old working man, claiming that the highest point of his day is masturbating in the shower every morning.

Mom breaks down more constantly. She struggles with competition at work, struggling with family and no longer communicating emotionally with her husband. She constantly wavers from over-obsessing on tiny details and watching herself from a distance and seeing a failure.

Look closer.

The new kid next door constantly films daughter and even paints her name in fire on the lawn. His father is a militant man who uses the military as a facade to hide every aspect of himself. Other neighbors, Jim and Jim, are very, very good friends. Daughter's best friend is a virgin slut.

Keep looking. The picture only gets more complex the longer you view it.

This is American Beauty.

Critics have given this astounding motion picture outstanding reviews, the highest of the year. Playing in limited release in only 429 theaters, it has been ranked as the fifth highest grossing movie for two weeks; an event that has only been accomplished by The Blair Witch Project.

Kevin Spacey (Lester, the dad) and Annette Bening (Carolyn, the mom) are already being considered for Oscar nominations. Practically every actor and actress in American Beauty delivers the highest quality of acting the silver screen has seen in a long time. Mena Suvari (Angela, the daughter's best friend) comes a long way from American Pie and delivers a totally opposite character that shows her true potential. Wes Bently (Ricky, the boy next door) rivets the movie to depths of any viewers' personal feeling and emotions. Even Quantum Leap's Scott Bakula makes an appearance as one of the Jims.

American Beauty shows an extreme case of family turmoil. It sends constant messages to the audience that enable the viewers to feel within themselves what is happening on the screen. Although twisted, it depicts real life and focuses on the horrible events that can occur. From these events, it also shows how beauty can blossom and, sometimes, how things aren't that bad.

There are so many emotional, personal actions and feelings perceived in American Beauty that the only way to understand them is to watch the movie. Although the movie sounds totally serious and psychological, it is also comical and very entertaining. It contains something for everyone.

Check out the Daily Beacon online for showtimes and theaters playing American Beauty at dailybeacon.utk.edu/movies.