The opening of the film is very effective. It starts with introducing the main character called Lester Burnham, played by Kevin Spacey. He introduces himself, his family and his neighbourhood in many different ways. We get an immediate impression of what he is really like from the start, then throughout the opening we learn more about him from his family's point of view. As the first scene begins, his body language comes across as him being very confident and laid back. He also seems to be very careless and forgetful which automatically shows the audience how he is and how his personality affects him. Later on in the scene he becomes more sarcastic and monotone. This could be trying to show that he is going through a mid-life crisis and that he is very pessimistic and negative about most things. Overall, our first impression of him is that he is quite cynical but well off. He also says exactly what he feels which emphasises his honesty. It is almost as if he has no ambition and he has given up because he seems to think nothing goes right for him. The tone of his voice links to his body language as he believes he is not important and nobody has any respect for him. This shows how dull and average he is because we can see that he has succeeded although he doesn't seem bothered about the way he portrays himself to be. The clothes that he wears are also an example of how average he is as he just wears pyjamas at night and a suit for work.
The relationship between him, his wife and his daughter is very complex. His wife and daughter obviously know what he is like and by what happens in the film; they seem to treat him like a child instead of his daughter. This shows he is not the dominant person in the family and never has been. An example of this is when Lester is late for work, and his daughter is waiting in the front seat of the car and his wife is shouting him from outside the house. When he arrives he uses a sarcastic comment to her as he drops everything out from his briefcase. He then sits in the back seat of the car which shows that he is not as important or on the same level as his wife or his daughter. This shows that their relationship is very distant and almost non existent. His running commentary of his thoughts adds to the understanding of the story which adds humour as we can relate to him.
Mise en scene is used to create the atmosphere. The neighbourhood that he lives in looks like an average neighbourhood although his house looks very expensive and he looks well off. He seems to have lots of money and nice possessions which shows that he works hard and thats the only thing that keeps him going. It is clear that he doesn't love his wife, and the audience can obviously see that the feelings mutual due to the way the talk and respond to one another. Lester says that having a shower is the best part of the day, which almost makes him sound quite pathetic although his feelings are clear and honest which once again adds humour. The whole thing is like a flashback. The use of colour is very effective, although not very noticeable. The lighting around him is quite dark and shadowy which could be trying to make him out to be the bad person, as the lighting around his wife is bright and cheerful. Red, white and blue are the colours that are used the most which shows the american themed colour palette. This is effective as it stereotypes the family and how their relationships affect one another. The use of red roses are also included which represent happiness and love but we get a clear idea that this is not present in this relationship. Lastly, we see how Lester is trapped in his own home. We can see this because in one scene he is looking out of his window looking at his wife talking to the nextdoor neighbour. This also makes him look like a child although, deep down he is not bothered about her relationship with others as he doesn't love her. We get the idea that he is 'trapped' from everything. He is bored of his every day life and wants to get away from it all.
From this opening of American Beauty, we can see how demographics, body language, the tone of voice, clothes and mise en scene, affects performance, and if used well, how it helps creates the story. Personality is a very important factor of characters and we can see, by lester Burnham's attitude, it doesn't go down well with others, including his family.
