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Author: T.S. Johnson
Sam Mendes' darkly comic portrayal of suburbia in his first movie, American Beauty (1999) takes a hard look at what happens when you've accomplished the American Dream only to realize that it isn't enough. Lester, the film's anti-hero wakes up one morning deep in a mid life crisis and decides that
The color red and roses are a symbol of passion and desire and Mendes uses the combination to symbolize the lack of passion and in turn the misplaced desires in the character's lives. Caroline, Lester's wife is a woman who on the outside seems to have it all: a family, a big house, and a great career. But we soon find out that nothing in Caroline's world is perfect except for the red roses she takes great pride and care in growing.
These roses can be found everywhere: lining the yard, on end tables, the center piece on the dining room table and even in the home she's trying to sell. The roses represent the passion that Caroline has lost for life but can't admit she no longer has. She is a deeply unhappy woman who tries to mask that unhappiness by projecting forth an image of perfection. She believes that if she thinks positive then everything will be okay. She listens to and recites daily affirmations to herself to keep up her positive
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