May 25, 2001 12:34 PM
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I landed outside New Excelscior Theatre in mumbai (glad to see that Mumbai offers the chance to watch some of these wonderful movies as a rerun).
I entered the movie hall, not knowing what to expect and yes I came out 2 hrs later nodding my head and feeling that the world is a queer place with people grappling with ghosts of various kinds. After all we are humans far from divinity and we have our personal duels to be fought with our own self... well this movie is about people who one may not run into everyday but nevertheless they are very real people who are trying to live with their eccentricities.
Lester Burnham (kevin spacey) is a man going through a crisis of sorts in life and simply finds his existence a mere stroll down the corridors of drudgery, with a marriage which has gone sour. His wife (Annette benning) herself is a bundle of nerves trying to seek a fresh lease of life , a young daughter who hates her dad's crush on her girlfriend. There are neighbours in the form a family newly moved in. Again a family full of people trying to cope with their foibles.
The narrative is about events which supposedly mirrors the American Society and about the pressures various people undergo to maintain some amount of sanity in their lives.
The neighbouring family consists of an ex-marine corp , his son who is under his father's tyrannical rule and finds solace in capturing the various nuances of life on a camcorder , a guy who is on dope and pushes dope earning a living.
Lester realises that life has to be lived on one's own terms late into his life but nevertheless tries to explore his life further , finding joy in his new found sense of identity . He is at peace literally when life plays jokes on him whther at work or in his personal life.
Tthe performances rendered by the cast is simply amazing , kevin spacey leads the way with some controlled yet forceful acting. The dialogues are full of some ribtickling wry humour which leaves you chuckling all along .
There are some unforgettable vignettes in the movie which makes you simply think ....For e.g a plastic bag caught in a wind pocket and waltzing with gay abandon is the metphorical portrayal of the subtle beauties of our life which we often miss out on...
Truly a class act , with some classic performances,and refreshingly the background score by Thomas Newman is riveting and has some oriental overtones.
All in all a real ride on the highway of conflicting thoughts in life.The moral fabric of the society is being reflected and examined here and I would say that to generalize and to sermonize on the morals portrayed is foolhardy for these are events which could happen in the lives of anyone and what is amazing is the what each one of us does to try to tackle these problems from the sexual identity to infidelity.
P.S. the title of the review is a favourite line of mine from the movie..
chiao guys ....
