The first time I saw American Beauty I didn't quite know what to think the entire way through At the end of the movie,the only thing I knew for sure was that Kevin Spacey had been killed and the neighbor did it, I had to think about the other things for awhile to concoct what I thought about it. That was a long time ago though, and since then I've seen it quite a few more times. Every time I watch it though, one character sticks with me more than all the rest. Quite obviously this is the father, played by Kevin Spacey. It's natural he would be the most memorable character considering he narrarates at the beginning and end of the movie, and he is also involved in the gruesome death scene. I think when the director was filming this movie, he had this in mind as well. The father is the character the audience will be the most interested in, therefore he should be the one narrorating at the beginning and at the end of the movie. The mother, played by Annette Benning, was an interesting character as well, but she simply didn't come off as likeable. The fact that the father was able to turn down sexual intercourse with a beautiful girl, while his wife could not do the same may have been the kicker for this. I also respect the fact that the father was not fake much in the movie, he let his emotions hang loose, and for the moviegoer, this is much more interesting. The daughter, Jane, seemed like more of a filler character to me. The neighbor boy who was infatuated with her seemed to be her reason for being around. Truthfully, she was in some honest, deep scenes, but they were marked by the presence of another character for the most part. I can't quite say if this was the original intent, but thats how I saw it. When they did the scene in the school gym, the father and the friend were focused on. When they did the scenes alone with Jane and the boy next door, the boy next door had more interesting lines.
