AMERICAN BEAUTY - COLOR

Color plays a key role in the Sam Mendes film, American Beauty. The color red is predominately displayed throughout the film with Lester’s (Kevin Spacey) fantasy sequence of the red rose petals covering Angela (Mena Suvari), Carolyn’s (Annette Bening) perfectly defined red rose garden, the bright red front door on the Burnham house, and the red roses placed strategically throughout the Burnham home. The majority of the scenes in the movie appear darkly lit with a filtered or grainy residue. This is evident with Ricky’s (Wes Bentley) bedroom being dark to convey his secrets and mysterious nature. When the videos are viewed that Ricky has filmed, they look and feel as if they are in black and white. Many of the exterior shots appear just as diluted and cloudy although it looks very clear outside. The cinematographer, Conrad Hall has created a well defined picture with his colorful photography and imagery in American Beauty.

Here is a youtube link of Lester’s fantasy sequence:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okaWTEnU4j0