Also, on the American Beauty subject, Nick claims he was a literary major and is a good writer, but yet I’ve never seen someone misunderstand a movie so badly.
it’s a view of how glamorizing hedonism and Immorality is inaccurate to what the realities are. Every time Lester fantasies about the girl, there are rose petals, a literal rose colored lens to what sex with her, literally the pinnacle of bad actions, would be. Then when he finally gets the chance, there are no rose petals, there is no music, it’s just a scared little girl and awkward emotions. He realizes that he’s a monster and it ends with him being killed like the monster he was.
The movie was trying to get you to reflect. Thanks to entertainment, everyone has a glamorized view of crime and selfishness, and the movie gives us that same view. But the ending it shows that the reality isn’t fun, it isn’t sexy, and it isn’t worth it. He lost everything and only truly realized what he lost, his life with his daughter, at the end when it didn’t matter. She’s not gonna be “okay” without him. That wasn’t the sentiment. the sentiment was that she was the one thing that made him worth while and he was realizing how great she truly was for him. She was perfect even without the roses.
He has the same mindset of people who watch American Psycho or Fight Club and think they’re how to guides for living a proper life as a man