American Beauty (1999 film) as Lester and Angela get closer, finally taking the roses—and thus Carolyn—out of the shot. Lester's epiphany at the end of the film is expressed by rain and the use of red, building to a crescendo that is a deliberate contrast to the release Lester feels. The constant use of red "lulls [the audience] subliminally" into becoming used to it; consequently, it leaves the audience unprepared when Lester is shot and his blood spatters on the wall. Pennington argues that "American Beauty" defines its characters through their sexuality. Lester's attempts to relive his youth are a direct result of his
Wonderland (1999 film) "genuinely uplifting" and only giving tentative hope for the characters. Wonderland (1999 film) Wonderland is a 1999 drama film about the lives of a London couple, their three adult daughters and absent son. Directed by Michael Winterbottom, the film stars Jack Shepherd, Kika Markham, Shirley Henderson, Gina McKee, Molly Parker, John Simm, and Stuart Townsend. The film was entered into the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. The film follows the lives of three London sisters and their family over five days, a long Guy Fawkes Night weekend in November. Waitress Nadia (McKee), "shy, with a backpack and her hair in girlish