In the first scene of american beauty I got the feeling that Lester was a lonely, and single man. I was under this impression because he woke up alone, no wife by his side and he just looked like he wanted to give up on the day before it had even began. The way that his bedroom is set out also suggests that he lives a very monotonous life, very bland colours, plain walls, plain bed sheets, it doesnt look like anyone actually lives there, it just looks like a cheap hotel room that he has rented for the night. In the next scene we see Lester in the shower, where he describes the highlight of his day to be 'jerking off in the shower' which illustrates the lack of sex in his marriage., which once again shows how discontent he is with his life.
The scene then takes us outside to Lesters wife, Carolyn, the contrast between him and his wife is huge, its almost as if the roles have been reversed in a stereotypical family situation, she is the one that's up bright and early, confident and ready to get on with the day, a well fitting suit and looks presentable, This is another way that the film shows how sad Lesters life is.
Lester is presented to be trapped in his life, or marriage in this scene, first this is shown in the shower as if he is trapped behind the glass door frame, and again when he is looking out the window to see his wife talking to the neighbour, its the way of showing that he is the outsider looking in on society, he is not really wanted or needed anywhere.
The tipping point in the scene is when Carolyn is honking the horn and getting angry with Lester because he is making her late for work, in a stereotypical world it should be the other way round, Lester's briefcase then opens and all of his work documents fall out of the case, making him look extremely pathetic and embarrassing, The way that Lester walks also shows how unsatisfied he is and that he has a lack of confidence.
To show how little his family think of him Lester is positioned in the back seat of the car, typically the child's seat but because Lester has no respect from his family this is where he is forced to sit. Lester then goes on to fall asleep in the back of the car looking like a little boy slouched down as if he hasnt got anything to do today.
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