Editing American Beauty (1999 film) (section)

===Temporality and music===
''American Beauty'' follows a traditional narrative structure, only deviating with the displaced opening scene of Jane and Ricky from the middle of the story. Although the plot spans one year, the film is narrated by Lester at the moment of his death. Jacqueline Furby says that the plot "occupies&nbsp;... no time [or] all time", citing Lester's claim that life did not flash before his eyes, but that it "stretches on forever like an ocean of time".<ref name="Furby 2006 22">{{harvnb|Furby|2006|p=22}}</ref> Furby argues that a "rhythm of repetition" forms the core of the film's structure.<ref>{{harvnb|Furby|2006|p=25}}</ref> For example, two scenes have the Burnhams sitting down to an evening meal, shot from the same angle. Each image is broadly similar, with minor differences in object placement and body language that reflect the changed dynamic brought on by Lester's new-found assertiveness.<ref>{{harvnb|Mendes|Ball|2000|loc=chapter 17}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Furby|2006|pp=25–26}}</ref> Another example is the pair of scenes in which Jane and Ricky film each other. Ricky films Jane from his bedroom window as she removes her bra, and the image is reversed later for a similarly "voyeuristic and exhibitionist" scene in which Jane films Ricky at a vulnerable moment.<ref name="Furby 2006 22" />

[[File:American Beauty gymnasium.ogv|thumb|275px|alt=In a school gymnasium, a cheerleading squad dances in front of bleachers which host a crowd of parents; the camera follows one of the cheerleaders. As "On Broadway" fades, so do the other cheerleaders, parents, and lights, until only a middle-aged man is left watching the girl under a spotlight. She dances seductively to his appreciative gaze, and begins to unzip her sweater, seemingly naked underneath. The motion repeats several times before she reaches the end of the zip; she opens the sweater, at which point hundreds of rose petals erupt from her chest towards the man. As "On Broadway" returns, so do the cheerleaders, parents, and regular lights.|Lester's fixation on Angela is symbolized by a discordant, percussive [[musical motif]] that temporarily replaces a [[diegetic]] instrumental version of "[[On Broadway (song)|On Broadway]]".<ref name="link 86" />]]
Lester's fantasies are emphasized by slow- and repetitive-motion shots;<ref>{{harvnb|Furby|2006|p=23}}</ref> Mendes uses double-and-triple cutbacks in several sequences,<ref name="chapter 11" /><ref name="chapter 4" /> and the score alters to make the audience aware that it is entering a fantasy.<ref>{{harvnb|Mendes|Ball|2000|loc=chapter 9}}</ref> One example is the gymnasium scene—Lester's first encounter with Angela. While the cheerleaders perform their half-time routine to "[[On Broadway (song)|On Broadway]]", Lester becomes increasingly fixated on Angela. Time slows to represent his "voyeuristic hypnosis" and Lester begins to fantasize that Angela's performance is for him alone.<ref name="link 84">{{harvnb|Link|2004|p=84}}</ref> "On Broadway"—which provides a conventional underscore to the onscreen action—is replaced by discordant, percussive music that lacks melody or progression. This [[nondiegetic]] score is important to creating the narrative stasis in the sequence;<ref>{{harvnb|Link|2004|pp=84–85}}</ref> it conveys a moment for Lester that is stretched to an indeterminate length. The effect is one that Stan Link likens to "vertical time", described by the composer and music theorist [[Jonathan Kramer]] as music that imparts "a single present stretched out into an enormous duration, a potentially infinite 'now' that nonetheless feels like an instant".{{refn|Kramer uses the analogy of looking at a sculpture: "We determine for ourselves the pacing of our experience: we are free to walk around the piece, view it from many angles, concentrate on some details, see other details in relationship to each other, step back and view the whole, see the relationship between the piece and the space in which we see it, leave the room when we wish close our eyes and remember, and return for further viewings."<ref name="link 86" />|group="nb"}} The music is used like a visual cue, so that Lester and the score are staring at Angela. The sequence ends with the sudden reintroduction of "On Broadway" and [[teleological]] time.<ref name="link 86">{{harvnb|Link|2004|p=86}}</ref>

According to Drew Miller of ''[[Stylus Magazine|Stylus]]'', the soundtrack "[gives] unconscious voice" to the characters' psyches and complements the subtext. The most obvious use of pop music "accompanies and gives context to" Lester's attempts to recapture his youth; reminiscent of how the [[counterculture of the 1960s]] combated American repression through music and drugs, Lester begins to smoke cannabis and listen to rock music.{{refn|Another example comes with the songs that Carolyn picks to accompany the Burnhams' dinners—upbeat "[[elevator music]]" which is later replaced with more discordant tunes that reflect the "escalating tension" at the table. When Jane plays "[[Cancer for the Cure]]", she switches off after a few moments because her parents return home. The moment reinforces her as someone whose voice is "cut short", as does her lack of association with as clearly defined genres as her parents.<ref name="miller" />|group="nb"}} Mendes's song choices "progress through the history of American popular music". Miller argues that although some may be over familiar, there is a parodic element at work, "making good on [the film's] encouragement that viewers look closer". Toward the end of the film, [[Thomas Newman]]'s score features more prominently, creating "a disturbing tempo" that matches the tension of the visuals. The exception is "[[Don't Let It Bring You Down]]", which plays during Angela's seduction of Lester. At first appropriate, its tone clashes as the seduction stops. The lyrics, which speak of "castles burning", can be seen as a metaphor for Lester's view of Angela—"the rosy, fantasy-driven exterior of the 'American Beauty{{'"}}—as it burns away to reveal "the timid, small-breasted girl who, like his wife, has willfully developed a false public self".<ref name="miller">{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Drew |date=July 20, 2004 |title=A Kiss After Supper: American Beauty |url=http://stylusmagazine.com/articles/a_kiss_after_supper/american-beauty.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100113232928/http://stylusmagazine.com/articles/a_kiss_after_supper/american-beauty.htm |archive-date=January 13, 2010 |access-date=May 9, 2020 |website=[[Stylus Magazine|Stylus]]}}</ref>