“It may all prove to be better for those who came before us and those who will be here after, but those of us who were born between Apocalypse Now and Wall Street seem to be in a bit of a bind. There is no sense of that coming dread in American Beauty—it’s static; a silent groan about the excesses of comfort. Whereas Fight Club, Three Kings, eXistenZ, and others embodied a looming paranoia and diminution that feels steady today. (I mean, did you see The Dark Knight Rises trailer for chrissake?). It feels impossible to go to American Beauty, now, as an adult, and find anything but a nasty, patronizing movie that tries to spin baby boomer disillusionment into universal themes.”
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Does this not remind you of the film that will win best picture this year? The Descendents? Though 2011 was the year that gave us Martha Marcy May Marlene, Shame, Drive, Take Shelter, Melancholia, and of course the Artist.
