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Shallow Space and the Relationships of American Beauty

Written By: Ella Stone
In the film American Beauty, we get insight into a dysfunctional all American family. Lester, Carolyn, and Jane Burnham appear to be the model family from the outside, but the truth is that they have extremely unhealthy relationships with one another. These unhealthy relationships are made apparent by the actions of the three Burnhams over the course of the film but are also brilliantly shown by the cinematography. Specifically, the use of shallow and divided space is used to highlight distant relationships of the Burnham Family.
In this kitchen scene, the use of shallow space and surface division shows the emotional distance between Lester, Carolyn, and Jane Burnham. In this scene, the Burnham family is eating breakfast before work and school, and Jane is asking her mother if her friend can stay the night. The moment is tense because of Lester’s strange obsession with Jane’s friend, and because of the conflict that Carolyn and Lester are in. The use of space that is most apparent in this shot is the shallow focus that shows us Lester and Carolyn, but not Jane. This use of space is purposeful, as it emphasizes Janes distant from her parents and represents that they don’t have a close relationship. However, Jane being distant from both her parents doesn’t mean that her parents are close, they are just as distant from each other as Jane is from them, which is shown by surface division. Carolyn and Lester are split into separate frames by Jane, showing that they are divided in their relationship. Therefore, through the use of space in this shot, it becomes clear that this family isn’t emotionally close to one another.
    In the establishing moments of the film, the struggling marriage of Lester and Carolyn is hinted through shallow space. In this shot, we see Lester peeking through the window at Carolyn as she speaks to a neighbor. Carolyn and the neighbor are out of focus in the foreground, while Lester remains in focus in the background. This shows the idea that the two aren’t meeting eye to eye because when one is in focus the other is blurry. Also, not only is Lester’s focus opposite of his wife’s, but he’s also separated from her by the window he’s framed in. This separation hints at the distance that Lester and Carolyn have from each other in their marriage.

     Early in the film, the distant relationship between Jane and Lester is shown by the use of surface division. In this shot, Jane and Lester are talking to one another about their relationship. Although Lester is trying to reach out the Jane, the two don’t have an intimate moment because of their distance from each other in their relationship. This is an early shot in the film, and the audience does not yet know the extent of what their relationship truly is. To establish that Lester and Jane are not close, divided space was utilized. Within this shot, Jane and her father are each placed in their own frame by the window. This represents that the lives of Lester and Jane are very separate from one another, more than what is normal for a father and daughter. Therefore, it is clear that the two have a very distant relationship.
     American Beauty is a fantastic example of the use of space. Not only does it’s use of shallow and divided space create beautiful shots, but it also does an amazing job of subtly telling the story. Without the well-planned cinematography that gave the entire film an additional layer of depth, the movie would have not been the same.

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