"American Beauty" - Film Analysis

George Sand, French romantic writer, hit the nail right on the head when he said this in 1872: Appearance versus reality has been a central theme in many American creative works. The film American Beauty is not an exception. American Beauty is a motion picture that delves into your typical, middle-class suburban American home and slowly uncovers all of the abnormalities that lie within. In this case the Burnham family is portrayed as normal but as …

…hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst... And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life..."