In his first feature film, theatre director Sam Mendes directs a black comedy taking a look behind the clean cut facade of middle American suburbia and exposing all it's nasty little secrets.
It opening is reminiscent of Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard. After a short scene where a girl jokingly asks her boyfriend to kill her embarrassing father, we switch to a view of a street in 'anytown, USA' and the narrator of the story informs us that he is going to die. Though we now know how it ends, the hook is in and we are on board for the journey.
This is basically a film about a mid-life crisis. Lester tries to claim back the freedom of his youth that he lost through marriage and parental responsibility. He hates his job, he is emasculated by his more successful wife, his daughter thinks he is an embarrassment who lusts after her friend (which is true. Mena Suvari is kinda funny looking though!) and his only sexual relief is when he routinely jerks off in the shower in the morning.
Poor Lester. Fortunately he begins to assert himself with the inspiration of the new neighbours son, Ricky. He quits his job, goes to work in a burger joint, buys a sport car and gets stoned a lot. He rules!
The film has taken a lot of flack in recent years, but I think it still stands up as a good film. it's certainly not perfect by any means. Though it contains some successful elements (the reactions to the gun shot are very cleverly edited in), I think it loses a little weight in the final act. I like thew finish though. The house of cards collapses and you are left to wonder what will become of the pile. No leap forward, just a simple epilogue from Lester which revisits ideas from an earlier monologue from Ricky. It all ends where Lester ends.
The great cast gives some great performances. Annette Benning does play manic very well! Spacey keeps it calm and cool as he tells Lester's story. Even in the scene where he finally stands up to his wife, it's all done very controlled with just enough threat to pay attention. I think the two dinner scenes are the best in the film and really show, contrasting against each other, the journey the family is on as they all grow apart from each other.Thora Birch is the standout for me. She plays the daughter Janey, with great control. She's just the thankless teenager who needs saving from her depressing life. Again Ricky comes to the rescue.
A studed tableau of a family falling apart. The dinner scenes are an integral part of the ac of the 3 characters in the family. Especially Lester.
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