MOVIE ANALYSIS

Natacha Adamczyk
MMI department
IUT du Limousin

1
 Sam Mendes
Samuel Alexander "Sam" Mendes (born 1 August 1965) is an English stage and film director. In 2000,
Mendes was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II for "services
to drama", and in 2005 received a lifetime achievement award from the Directors Guild of Great Britain.

Early life
Mendes was born in Reading, Berkshire, the only child of Valerie Helene (née Barnett), an author of
children's books, and Jameson Peter Mendes, a university professor.Sam's father, who is from Trinidad, is of
Portuguese and Italian descent,[5] and Sam's mother is an English Jew. His grandfather is the Trinidadian
writer Alfred Hubert Mendes. Mendes' parents divorced when he was a child. He grew up in Oxfordshire
and attended Magdalen College School and Peterhouse, Cambridge where he graduated with a first in
English. While at Cambridge, he was a member of the Marlowe Society and directed several plays.

Career
Stage
Mendes first drew attention for his assured production of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard in the West End
starring Judi Dench. He was under 25! Soon he was directing plays for the Royal Shakespeare Company
where his productions were praised for their clarity, intelligence and stylishness. Among Mendes’ best
productions were Cabaret, The Glass Menagerie, Company, Habeas Corpus, Uncle Vanya and Twelfth
Night.

Film
Mendes made his movie directorial debut with American Beauty, starring Kevin Spacey. The film grossed
$356.3 million worldwide. The film won the Golden Globe Award, the BAFTA Award and the Academy
Award for Best Picture. Mendes won a Directors Guild of America Award, a Golden Globe Award, and the
Academy Award for directing.
Mendes's second film, in 2002, was Road to Perdition, which grossed US$181 million. The film was
nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actor, and won one for Best
Cinematography.
In 2003, Mendes established Neal Street Productions, a film, television and theatre production company he
would use to finance much of his later work.
In 2005, Mendes directed the war film Jarhead in association with his production company Neal Street
Productions. The film received mixed reviews, receiving a Rotten Tomatoes aggregate of 61%, and a gross
revenue of US$96.9 million worldwide. The film focused on the boredom and other psychological
challenges of wartime, instead of being a traditional combat-action film.
In 2008, Mendes directed Revolutionary Road, starring his then-wife, Academy Award–winner Kate
Winslet, along with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kathy Bates. Mendes' comedy-drama Away We Go opened the
2009 Edinburgh International Film Festival. The film follows a couple (John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph)
searching North America for the perfect community in which to settle down and start a family. The film was
well received by critics but performed poorly at the box office. On 5 January 2010, news broke that Mendes
was employed to direct the 23rd Eon Productions installment of the James Bond franchise, Skyfall, which
was released on 26 October 2012.

2
 American Beauty (part 1 – Introductions)

* Introductions
(Chap 1, 1’08 – 4’11)

Fill in the table with as much information as possible.

Personal information Relations to the other

Characters
(age, occupation, tastes, personality…) protagonists

Lester Burnham

Carolyn Burnham

Jane Burnham

Jim # 1

Jim # 2

3
*A family dinner
(Chap 2, 6’36 – 9’52)

In the dining-room
a) Describe the action of the scene; who is present? What are they doing, talking about?
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b) Concentrate on the feelings of each character towards the other 2.

c) Now focus on the way it is filmed (camera movement, kind of shot, type of music) and what it tells
us about the situation and the characters.
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In the kitchen
a) Who’s present? What’s going on?
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b) Why does Lester say “Janie, what happened, we used to be pals?”

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c) Focus on the second part of the scene; whose point of view is given? Who is this person? How can
he perceive about Lester and his daughter? What aspect of filming confirms that? Comment on the
music.
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4
* The basket-ball game
(Chap 4, 13’50 – 17’20)

Complete the conversation between Carolyn and Lester.

Lester
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………?
…………………………………………………………………………?

Carolyn
Of course not. ………………………………………………………………………………………………… .
But ………………………………………………………………… her steps for weeks.

Lester
Well, ………………………………………….she’s going to resent it.
And I’m …………………….. the ………….. …………………… marathon on TNT.

Carolyn
Lester, ………………………………………………….. .
………………………………………………………………………………………… between you and Jane.

Lester
……………………………..? She ………………………………….. .

Carolyn
………………………………………………… .

Lester
………………………………………………….. .

5
American Beauty (part II – A change coming)

(Different scenes analysis)

6
 American Beauty (part III – Lester’s last day)
“Remember those posters that said “Today is the first day of the rest of your life?”
Well, that’s true of everyday except one.
The day you die.”

* Possible suspects
(Chap 21-23, 1’19’57 to 1’38’14)

Which reason(s) do they have to kill Lester?

Jane

Ricky

Angela

Colonel Fitts

Carolyn

I guess I could be pissed off about what happened to me ... but it’s hard to stay mad
When there’s so much beauty in the world.
Sometimes I feel like I’m seeing it all at once, and it’s too much,
my heart fills up like a balloon that’s about to burst...
and then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it,
and then it flows through me like rain
and I can’t feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life...
You have no idea what I’m talking about, I’m sure,
But don”t worry...
You will someday.”

7
 Scenes analysis in pairwork

1. Lester’s dream (chap 5, 18’17 to 19’15)

2. The Fitts’ family (chap 6, 22’50 to 25’20)

3. A new power struggle (chap 11, 40’46 to 44’14)

4. Back to the good old days (chap 12-13, 44’15 to

49’16)

5. Rick and Jane (2) (chap 16, 57’20 to 1’02’20)

6. A family dinner (2) (chap 17, 1’02’20 to 1’04’45)

* Characters present – action

* Direction
* Filming techniques
* Music? Sound effects?
* Scene situation: What happened right before? What happens right after? Link?
* Meaning of the scene? Link with the movie overall?
* Themes present?

Show your scene then present your analysis. Make sure to divide equally the speaking time.

8
American Beauty

… Look closer.