American Beauty Opening and Ending scene.

The opening and Ending scenes of American Beauty are similar and different, all at the same time.

The opening scene begins with an aerial shot of Lester's street, with Lester narrating the scene, repeating the word 'this' over and over. "This is my street, This is my life etc etc."

The first scene where we first see Lester is him waking up, with his alarm that wakes him. That scene is a very dark scene, with only the light from the window lighting the scene. We then see him in the shower, where he masturbates, saying this will be the "highpoint of his day", that shows the audience how depressed he is, and how his day can only go "downhill from here"
His narration over the scene is in a very depressed tone, showing no enthusiasm or character at all. During his narration, we are introduced briefly to his family, his wife Carolyn, and his daughter Janie. He then gives a short narration about them, and how they were, or are now. The scene then cuts to a shot looking out of the car window, up into the trees, and we see the blue sky through the trees, which leads the audience to believe that the film will always be this bright and happy, then the opening scene ends with Lester's narration, 'It's never too late to get it back.'

Still in the making