American Beauty

Opening Scene 

In the beginning of the film, it shows the character Lester Burnham, played by Kevin Spacey he is shown as a man dominated by his wife and not looked up by his daughter. His life seems boring and he is fed up of it.

From the opening few minutes you can identify a few themes:-

He is trapped - There are many images where Lester is behind bars or trapped behind something but he is also trapped by his wife, in the opening scene he is is bed on his own and puts on some slippers which his wife seems to make him put on. He is then shown in the shower behind the glass door and then shown looking at his wife talking to the neighbours from behind the window. Shortly after he is shown in the back seat of a car, again behind glass. The most clear indication that this film tries to set a theme of imprisonment is when his reflection is shown in the screen behind bars on the screen. 

His wife is dominant over him - his wife seems to like things a certain way, like the way her things match with colour, again the way Lester is made to put the slippers on indicates his Wife's dominance. The stereotype of families is that the father is first up and first to work and has the only or most important job, however it seems his wife does this instead of him. When he leaves the house he is being rushed by his wife, she and his daughter look on at him with a look of disapproval, and more disappointment from his daughter. 

Colour themes - The colours in the opening sequence are very dull and boring, this could represent how Lester Burnham sees his life, in his bedroom, lots of beige and off-white is used. Even his suit is grey, as is the family car. The colours that shine out are red, white and blue (the colours of the American flag) you see red in the roses, white in the fences and blue in the shutter of the house. 

Music - The music used at the start is quite upbeat but repetitive and arguably boring, which again could link to Lester Burnham's boring and repetitive life. The music is a motif, like the roses and is used throughout the film.