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American Beauty - scene

            In the film, American Beauty directed by Sam Mendes, two sequences that were of significance were the opening and closing scenes. The opening scene is important as it foreshadows how the main characters will develop throughout the film. In the closing scene, the full development of characters is seen, and this development is highlighted through important events in the closing scene. .
             In the opening sequence the main characters foreshadow how they will develop throughout the film. One way in where this foreshadowing is seen is when the main character Ricky asks Jane if she wants her father (Lester) dead, "Do you want me to kill him for you" this then inevitably foreshadows the death of Lester. Another way in which foreshadowing is used is when Lester's voice-over is heard when he talks about Carolyn (his wife). Lester through the help of an establishing shot of his "perfect" neighbourhood portrays his wife as an in control and demanding for per section, "Notice how her gardening gloves match the handles of her secateurs that's is not an accident". This helps in setting up the so-called allusion of suburban bliss and foreshadows that it is not all what it seems to be. .
             During the opening scene the main character Lester is introduced. Lester is seen as bored and stuck in modern suburbia neurosis. One way this is shown is when the camera pans horizontally and we are shown Lester's daily routine of putting his slippers on to having a shower. This sets up the mundane nature of Lester's daily routine, and when he says, "It's all down hill from here" This highlights that Lester has hit a mid-life crisis and because of this he finds life utterly boring. Lester's crisis is formed by trying to keep up with society and consumerism, this caused Lester to find himself in a rut with life, which led to lack of personal fulfilment. Therefore Lester's mid-life crisis is important as it shows the imperfections of American suburbia.


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