《American Beauty》　美國麗人　每個人都心深如海

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2020年04月03日

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No.061　《American Beauty》　美國麗人　每個人都心深如海

英文導(dǎo)讀

American Beauty is a 1999 American drama film directed by Sam Mendes and written by Alan Ball. Kevin Spacey stars as office worker Lester Burnham, who has a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend, Angela (Mena Suvari). Annette Bening co-stars as Lester's materialistic wife, Carolyn, and Thora Birch plays their insecure daughter, Jane; Wes Bentley, Chris Cooper, and Allison Janney also feature. The film has been described by academics as a satire of American middle class notions of beauty and personal satisfaction; analysis has focused on the film's explorations of romantic and paternal love, sexuality, beauty, materialism, self-liberation, and redemption.

Kevin Spacey plays Lester Burnham, a man in his mid-40s going through an intense midlife crisis; he's grown cynical and is convinced that he has no reason to go on. Lester's relationship with his wife Carolyn (Annette Bening) is not a warm one; while on the surface Carolyn strives to present the image that she's in full control of her life, inside she feels empty and desperate. Their teenage daughter Jane (Thora Birch) is constantly depressed, lacking in self-esteem, and convinced that she's unattractive. Her problems aren't helped by her best friend Angela (Mena Suvari), an aspiring model who is quite beautiful and believes that that alone makes her a worthwhile person. Jane isn't the only one who has noticed that Angela is attractive: Lester has fallen into uncontrollable lust for her, and she becomes part of his drastic plan to change his body and change his life. Meanwhile, next door, Colonel Fitts (Chris Cooper) has spent a lifetime in the Marine Corps and can understand and tolerate no other way of life, which makes life difficult for his son Ricky (Wes Bentley), an aspiring filmmaker and part-time drug dealer who is obsessed with beauty, wherever and whatever it may be. American Beauty was also the screen debut for screenwriter Alan Ball.

Ball began writing American Beauty as a play in the early 1990s, partly inspired by the media circus around the Amy Fisher trial in 1992. He shelved the play after realizing the story would not work on stage. After several years as a television screenwriter, Ball revived the idea in 1997 when attempting to break into the film industry. The modified script had a cynical outlook that was influenced by Ball's frustrating tenures writing for several sitcoms. Producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen took American Beauty to DreamWorks; the fledgling film studio bought Ball's script for $250,000, outbidding several other production bodies. DreamWorks financed the $15 million production and served as the North American distributor. American Beauty marked acclaimed theater director Mendes' film debut; courted after his successful productions of the musicals Oliver! and Cabaret, Mendes was nevertheless only given the job after twenty others were considered and several "A-list" directors turned down the opportunity.

Spacey was Mendes' first choice for the role of Lester, even though DreamWorks had urged the director to consider better-known actors; similarly, the studio suggested several actors for the role of Carolyn until Mendes offered the part to Bening without DreamWorks' knowledge. Principal photography took place between December 1998 and February 1999 on soundstages at the Warner Bros. backlot in Burbank, California and on location in Los Angeles. Mendes' dominant style was deliberate and composed; he made extensive use of static shots and slow pans and zooms to generate tension.

Cinematographer Conrad Hall complemented Mendes' style with peaceful shot compositions to contrast with the turbulent on-screen events. During editing, Mendes made several changes that gave the film a less cynical tone.

Released in North America on September 15, 1999, American Beauty was positively received by critics and audiences alike; it was the best-reviewed American film of the year and grossed over $350 million worldwide. Reviewers praised most aspects of the production, with particular emphasis on Mendes, Spacey and Ball; criticism tended to focus on the familiarity of the characters and setting. DreamWorks launched a major campaign to increase American Beauty's chances of Academy Award success; at the 72nd Academy Awards the following year, the film won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (for Spacey), Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography.

獲獎情況

1999年第72屆奧斯卡：最佳影片、最佳導(dǎo)演、最佳男主角、最佳原創(chuàng)劇本、最佳攝影獎，并榮獲最佳女主角提名、最佳原創(chuàng)配樂提名。

影片信息

導(dǎo)演：薩姆·門德斯

編?。喊瑐?middot;鮑爾

主演：凱文·史派西、安妮特·貝寧、索拉·伯奇、米娜·蘇瓦麗

類型：劇情

制片國家（地區(qū)）：美國

上映日期：1999-10-01（美國）

片長：122分鐘

又名：《美麗有罪》《美國心·玫瑰情》《美國大美人》《美國少女》《美國美人》

劇情簡介

一個名叫萊斯特·伯哈姆的中年男人，正面臨著家庭和事業(yè)的危機。他的妻子卡羅琳在事業(yè)上取得了卓越的成就，擁有自己的房地產(chǎn)公司。而他自己在一家廣告公司待了14年卻毫無成就。在妻子面前，他認為自己是一個失敗者。妻子對他的態(tài)度越來越冷漠，夫妻關(guān)系惡化到難以交流的地步。

有一位比自己強很多的妻子已經(jīng)讓萊斯特焦頭爛額了，再加上一個未成年的女兒，更是讓他頭疼。女兒珍妮憎恨自己的父母，因為她感到他們幾乎從未真正注意過她。當(dāng)她發(fā)現(xiàn)她的新鄰居里奇用攝像機偷拍她的時候，她竟然沒有生氣，甚至覺得很刺激。

令人意想不到的是，萊斯特竟然會喜歡上女兒的好朋友安吉拉，一個未成年女孩。從此，萊斯特的生活發(fā)生了翻天覆地的變化，他變得不再墮落，可是他也正一步步走向一個陷阱。此時，他的妻子有了外遇，事情發(fā)展得越來越有趣，越來越出乎預(yù)料……

是什么樣的事情使得里奇的父親舉起槍，為什么槍口對準的人竟然是萊斯特？

制作花絮

切維·切斯、杰夫·丹尼爾斯和湯姆·漢克斯都曾是扮演萊斯特的人選。

本片結(jié)尾與凱文·史派西于1995年出演的《非常嫌疑犯》結(jié)尾非常相似，都是在凱文·史派西的畫外音中用淡出的手法為影片畫上句號。在萊斯特的臥室中可以看到《非常嫌疑犯》的海報。

本片片名源于一種玫瑰。

當(dāng)接近影片結(jié)尾時，里奇打開廚房的門看見萊斯特，開門的手其實是導(dǎo)演薩姆·門德斯的手。

斯蒂文·斯皮爾伯格推薦薩姆·門德斯來執(zhí)導(dǎo)本片的。

盡管根據(jù)影片外景可以斷定是在芝加哥郊區(qū)拍攝，但片中出現(xiàn)的航拍畫面卻是在美國加利弗尼州首府薩克拉曼多拍攝。最初劇組想在圣何塞拍攝，但當(dāng)?shù)鼐綖榉乐乖肼晹_民不允許直升機在300英尺以下飛行，而劇組設(shè)想的飛行高度是100英尺。

克里斯·庫柏是最后敲定的演員，當(dāng)時影片的排練已經(jīng)開始，他之所以猶豫不決是因為弗蘭克這個角色很可氣，他有些畏懼這個劇本和機會，而且導(dǎo)演選中自己也讓他有些不寒而栗。

重點學(xué)習(xí)

Lacking in self-esteem

lack in是英語中的一個固定搭配，主要用于be lacking in形式，是“缺乏（某種特性、特點或品質(zhì)）；欠缺…”的意思，文中是“缺乏自信”的意思，比如：Everyone seeks peace and harmony, because this is what we lack in our lives.（每一個人都不停在尋覓安詳與和諧，因為這些正是我們生命中所欠缺的東西。）

And can understand and tolerate no other way of life

在英語中，A way of life is the behaviour and habits that are typical of a particular person or group, or that are chosen by them. a way of life也就是“生活方式”的意思，比如：Most people who come from other countries seem to fit in with the way of life here.（大多數(shù)從外國來的人似乎適應(yīng)這里的生活方式。）另外，way of life常引申為“行為準則”的意思。

單詞時間

midlife[?midlaif] n. 中年

cynical[?sinik?l] adj. 憤世嫉俗的；冷嘲的

desperate[?desp?r?t] adj. 不顧一切的；令人絕望的；極度渴望的

self-esteem[?selfis?ti:m] n. 自信；自尊；自負；自大

unattractive[??n??træktiv] adj. 不吸引人注意的；沒有魅力的；不美麗的

aspiring[??spai?ri?] adj. 有抱負的；追求…的；高聳的

worthwhile[?w?:θ?hwail] adj. 值得做的，值得花時間的

uncontrollable[??nk?n?tr?ul?bl] adj. 無法控制的；無法管束的；難以駕馭的

lust[l?st] vi. 貪求，渴望

tolerate[?t?l?reit] vt. 忍受；默許；寬恕

dealer[?di:l?] n. 經(jīng)銷商；商人