American Beauty: Mise en Scene

Mise-en-scene:
American Beauty

Mise-en-scene literally means “setting up a scene.” There are six elements that make up mise-en-scene: acting, costume and make-up, setting, lighting, composition or space and lastly, but not least, time.
The film that I chose for this particular topic was American Beauty. American Beauty is like mise-en-scene candy. Each theme from repression to denial and fantasy to reality is clearly portrayed through the art of mise-en-scene.
We often say that a good performance is “realistic.” To me a good performance by an actor is making it seem as if they are not really “acting” per se; making the viewer believe that they are the actual character in the film. In American Beauty, the acting is quite individualized. The quality of the actors performances allow the audience to promptly identify what it is the characters are portraying. In the scene when Ricky Fitts is videotaping Jane while her friend Angela is over, you w...