I really enjoyed this film and felt that it possessed a lot of anaylitical qualities. It is about a stereotypical family living in America with what appears to be no real problems or desires. However what we see underneath the surface is an unhappy marriage, a disobedient, stereotypically moody and upset daughter and desire to mend the prospect of an unhappy family. Although when Lester Barnham (the unhappy father and husband) is introduced to the beautiful Angela Hayes he suddenly finds the passion and zeal in his life he has lost.
When the opening line to the film is about how Lester Barnham is going to die we automatically see that we are not about to see an ordinary happy go lucky film about American life. The cooky and closely observant neighbour brings harmony to the daughter Jane and also the father, but the audience also see that his package includes a neglectful father and a dark underlying secret about his past.
The slogan to the film is, 'look closer' which suggests that there is more than meets the eye and as the film goes on we see more and more about the families disfunctions and abstract normality as the audience become enticed further into the strangeness of the family. In the end of it although we are still dying to know who murders Lester we are more intrigued by the hidden truths and the satisfaction of change and loss throughout the film.
The common theme of beauty and the colour red is seen as desire and a stereotypical beauty which we see soon juxtaposes itself because as the film goes on we see that the beauty from the roses matches Angela Hayes who is seen as desireable and beautiful, although it is soon contradicted through her innocence which then matches the roses purity and stereotypes.
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