The prologue in the movie was when Jane was in a videotape talking about how awful her dad was and wanted someone to kill him. Then it faded to a scene of the street they live in with Lester's voice-over, and then showed him lying in bed alone.

The inciting incident that led to the conflicts was when Lester first laid eyes on Angela then fantasized about her all the time, and seemed to be obsessed with her. This became the means of arising disputes among the characters.

There were a whole lot of conflicts in this movie, most of which were character versus character, and character versus his self. There were these unhealthy marriages between Lester and Carolyn, and Col. Fitts and his very silent wife.

The pinch, wherein it leads to take action for resolution, was the part where Lester wanted to change and be happy for once.

The false resolutions were seen in the part where Lester notices how beautiful Carolyn was and began kissing her. We thought they were OK, only to be stopped because of an Italian-upholstered couch. Another was when Col. Fitts kicked Ricky out of his house because of his suspicion that his son was doing secret services to Lester. We thought nothing else would follow that event until the next surprising revelations.

The climax was when finally, Lester becomes honest, sincere, and caring. This was during his solemn and heart-to-heart talk with Angela in the kitchen. After the very short moment of realizing his true happiness and telling Angela that he feels great after all those years, he was shot dead.

The resolution was when Lester decided not to continue having sex with Angela after learning that she's still a virgin. It was a tough decision for him since he liked the girl so much and they were already in the middle of a passionate state. But this resolved all his misery. With this event, he was able to connect to his inner self and tell that he was indeed feeling grateful for his life.

The epilogue made it clear who fired the gun, and how Lester's death affected himself. Then it showed the shot of the street with the voice-over of Lester once more. This time giving moral lessons in life - like having so much beauty in the world, and being grateful for each moment of our lives.

There were several turning points in the film. First was, of course, Lester's seeing Angela and said that she had awakened him from many years of coma. Another was when Lester argued with Carolyn in the bedroom, speaks his mind, and felt happy about it. When Lester started working out, it suddenly changed the mood of every character in the film. Also, when he quitted from his job, this led to more conflicts, adds to it the hidden affair of Carolyn with his co-real estate agent Buddy. Jane and Ricky's relationship helped turn things around the story as well.

The setup was done well, focusing on each of the characters and introducing their dilemmas in life. For the Burnham and Fitts families, they are somewhat dysfunctional with no emotional attachments among members whatsoever. Each of them has their own problems and secrets, like Col. Fitts hiding his homosexuality behind his military position and his denial when he doesn't want Ricky to become gay. On the other hand, the two Jims in their neighborhood showed a happy disposition despite their sexual preference, which was contradictory to what the families portray.

There were so many choices for the characters to decide on: Lester's choice to save his job or not and fix his miserable life, Carolyn's choice to continue her affair with Buddy and stop being the victim, Jane's choice to go with Ricky, Col. Fitts' decision to reveal his true identity, Angela's choice to have a thing with her friend's father, and the list goes on.

With all these nature of alternatives for characters to choose from, character arcs become possible. Lester changed in the end and achieved happiness even for a very short while. Jane stood up because of Ricky. Carolyn, from projecting a happy marriage and successful as a person, dropped down to one who had an affair and thinks about committing murder, therefore, became more miserable. Col. Fitts, having lost control over his son and his identity as well, murdered Lester and became unhappier than ever.

There were also back stories that helped me understand what their lives were before they became miserable. The Burnham family was once a happy one. Not until love was lost and emotions became mere projections and pretensions. Ricky, on the other hand, was ever since under the control of his father, and was once sent to a mental hospital.

The entire film was a rollercoaster ride of emotional dynamics. In every scene, there was a different feeling. For every character, there was a different perspective. There were lots of surprising and shocking moments as characters reveal their true selves, as what Col. Fitts and Angela did. The very thought-provoking of all was Ricky, who was the weirdest of them all, not to mention his push and use of illegal drugs. It was he who saw what was beautiful and ugly amidst the conflicts. He showed the real beauty even in a simple manner of how the wind blew the plastic and leaves.

This made me like the film American Beauty after seeing the deeper things behind it.

My hope is to connect the characters in a way that they can best be examined as a whole, by showing how they are different. The only way to see differences, is to know how something is the same. Without first seeing the color green, you cannot make an argument as to what color the grass is. Of course the characters go much deeper than I'll get into, however I think examining a common thread throughout a story helps to gain a better appreciation for it.

In Plato's dialogue, The Symposium, many historical figures are brought together to have fictional speeches regarding the Goddess of Love. One of the characters, Pausanius, tries to explain a duality of Love: coming up with a “Heavenly Love” and a “Common Love”. Heavenly Love being a love that is true or honorable. Common Love is the opposite; deceitful, dishonorable, manipulative. I believe I see a direction connection between the Love Pausanius sees, to the Want I see in American Beauty. I define “Want” as being everything you aspire to obtain. This may be people, items, to have a certain image to others, power, wealth, etc... “Love,” I feel, is much more simple: It's the desire for something or someone. More than just something or someone you want to have, but something or someone that you can't live without. A focused, uncontrollable, often irrational form of “Want,” pertaining to one item/person above all else. Looking more on the general “Want” than the more specific “Love”, I feel we can gain more insight into the characters, possibly the most important aspect of this film. First, the “Common Want”:

Starting off with one of the peripheral characters, Buddy, we have someone that has built his life around his Wants. His main want is Image. He wants everyone to see a him as a certain thing. His nice suit at the party where we meet him, his beautiful wife

that later leaves him, his unwillingness to stay with Carol after their affair is discovered, even the way his face is plastered on each of his signs outside of for-sale homes; each of these show an image of success or money. What makes this a Common Want, is his willingness to use people for his own gain. When we first meet Buddy, he is standing next to his wife. Clearly, she is not having a good time; and clearly, Buddy does not care. She is only there to make him look better. After his affair with Carol is found out, he suggests that he and Carol not be seen with for a while; since he's facing a potentially very expensive divorce. This shows that he doesn't care for Carol at all. He is unwilling to sacrifice anything for someone else. His needs will always come before anyone else's. A cowardly and dishonorable trait.

Stepping back just a little, we reach Carol. While Buddy has reached the Image he was looking for, Carol has not. She wants the same thing Buddy does: to be the perfect Image of success. Much like Buddy, Carol is willing to use others to gain this Image. As they enter the party, she tries to make Lester adopt an Image that he is not, to make her look more successful. She even goes as far as telling him not to be weird, when he was just being himself. The best example of her Want being Common comes at the very end of the movie. After discovering her husband has been shot, the first thing we see her do is hide her gun. We don't see her call for help, or cry over he husband's body, but hide what may incriminate her; or “hurt her Image”. If it was found out that she could have killed her husband, she could never be the successful image she is looking for. In Carol's logic, “No one would buy a house from a suspected murderer.” Even after a tragic moment, her thoughts are of her.

Stepping even further back, we find Angela. Unlike Buddy or Carol, Angela is at the start of her life. However, she's all ready showing the signs of Common Want. She uses people, lies, and obviously wants people to view her as something. As Rickie says

near the end of the movie, Angela uses Jane to feel better about herself. Not caring for Jane's feelings, but using someone she sees as less important to make herself feel more important. She lies about her sexual history, whether it was when she told Lester she was a virgin, or with the stories she tells everyone else. Either to gain trust or admiration, respectively. Her Want for attention is quite obvious the first time we see Angela in Jane's room. While Jane talks to Angela about how Rickie would film her, Angela finds it disgusting. However, when she discovers that he could be watching “right now”, she starts posing in front of the window. To Want to look at Jane is a weird, perverted thing, but there's no problem at all for people to Want to look at her. The blatant narcissism, the Want or need to for attention, Angela shows is nothing I would call honest or true.

Taking a walk to the other side of the street, we find Colonel Fitts, Rickie's father. What the Colonel Wants is the “American Life”. His Want becomes Common not so much because of how he goes about getting it, but what he does when what he has, isn't what he Wants. For the most part, he seems to have his Wants; a nice house, a wife, what he believes to be a disciplined son, etc… However, when he thinks his son is something he doesn't Want, he hurts him. When Mr. Fitts finds out that Rickie had broken into his cabinet, he hits him for being disobedient; when he thinks his son his gay, he beats and disowns him. These actions don't only make him the “bad guy” but can also be examples of Heavenly Want, becoming Common Want. If the Colonel had accepted his son for what, he thought, he was, he may very well still have been showing Heavenly Want. However, his unwillingness to allow others their Wants is ultimately a horrible thing to do. In the end, this might be the best example of Common Want at it's worst.

On the Heavenly side of the spectrum, I'd like to talk about Rickie first. On the whole, I'd say Rickie's Wants are Heavenly. He Wants to share with Jane everything he can: ranging from his father's Nazi plate, to a video of a plastic bag; the most beautiful thing he ever filmed. Many of his Wants are for someone else. For example, he Wants Jane to be happy; a noble trait. At times, Rickie does show signs of Common Want. The last scene with Rickie and his father has Rickie lying to the Colonel. It could be argued that Rickie did this because he Wanted to leave the house without feeling guilty (his father forced him out). However, it could also be argued that what Rickie did was self-defense. By lying to his father he confused his father, enabling Rickie to escape further beating. Just a little later, Rickie tells Angela that she is boring, driving her to tears. I can see why

some might view this as “just plain mean”, and push Rickie into the Common Want category. I view this as Rickie standing up for the one he loves; the one he Wants to be with.

Rickie's counter-part, Jane, is the purest form of Heavenly Want in this film, for me. Jane's Wants are simple: to be happy and to find her place. Throughout the whole movie, we see Jane scream, get upset, and insult people. However, she remains truthful the whole time. Never once does she lie to get someone to do what she Wants. Through Rickie, Jane gains both happiness and a sense of who she is. Rickie makes Jane Want to be a better person. She Wants to be a better person for Rickie. Not for herself. A true and noble trait.

The last main character to talk about, is one of the hardest to place. We learn during the movie, that Lester just Wants to be happy. On the one side, he is honest to everyone he cares about. On the other, he uses his the knowledge of his boss' tax fraud to blackmail the company for sixty-thousand dollars. Lester, through Angela, also shows the great example of Heavenly Want, by trying to better himself for someone else. Many scenes take place in the garage with Lester working out. Whether his love for Angela is perverted” or not, it's pure. Lester might not know his place in life through most of the film, but at the end, he just Wants those he loves to be happy. Even if it means letting his wife sleep with another man, or letting Jane date the drug dealer next door; Lester isn't going to stand in anyone's way when it comes to what they Want; as long as everyone is happy. While not all Lester's actions are Heavenly in the film, his end result is.

Lastly, Mrs. Fitts. In a movie where personal needs and gains are the main focus of the main characters, Mrs. Fitts is the only character that doesn't seem to Want anything. At no point in the movie does she try to gain anything for her or anyone else. You will notice she is also the only character that never jumps off the screen. After viewing the other characters of the movie, it's hard for me to think the writer didn't have some point to her; some reason for putting her in there. If a plastic bag can be the most beautiful thing in the world, why can't a bland, emotionless character hold some kind of truth? Whether it was the writer's intention or not, I took Mrs. Fitts to be the embodiment of emptiness. The feeling the other characters have for the items, images, or people they have or lust after, is unknown to her.

For what ever reason - spousal abuse, parental abuse, traumatic experience, etc ... anything she feels she needs is out of her grasp. With nothing to drive her, nothing for her to lust after, there is nothing that makes her special. With her Wants taken away from her, she fades into the background to be passed over and aside. Whether it is a “Common” or “Heavenly” Want, it's all that is driving the characters to action in the film. To be successful, to be happy, to be loved, to be wanted ... Nothing these characters strive for is “bad” in any way. It's the actions they take to obtain them. No Want can ever be bad or wrong; only the actions taken gain them. The only one truly capable to watch your actions to keep them noble, honest, true, or “Heavenly”. The tagline to American Beauty is “Look closer...” My suggestion would be to look more closely at your own actions, and be aware of where they may be leading.