blue-gray existence he had been living. To carry further the theme that the Burnham's happy home is just a front for what lies deep inside. Sam Mendes juxtaposes the Burnham's house with the neighbor's homes. The bright, almost artificial colors of Burnham's house are quite a contrast against the Fitt's which is very bland and regimented; inside it is almost Amish looking. They have limited furniture, and the furniture that is present is plain, straight lined dark and wooden. The lighting is dim and the prevalent color throughout the home is white or cream. The Fritt's family is one of distances. Mendes makes a point by surrounding them in mild, gloomy colors and spacing them at length from one another. The family is clad in black and white throughout most of the film to externalize the loneliness and isolation between themselves and society. The other neighbors, Jim and Jim, two very successful men living together as "partners, appear at first to be the most abnormal of the bunch. They are always bright and cheery dressed in primary colors and portrayed as happy and full of life. The irony is that they are most normal characters in the entire film. Color is used not only to show juxtapositions in neighborhoods, but to bring out the characters as well. Sam Mendes captures the essence of each character with color. At first we see Lester in cool colors to suggest a lack of energy and a drained life. As the film continues and Lester goes through a rebirth we see him develop a brighter outlook on life and the color of his garments go through a rebirth as well, at first he turns to yellow, then green and eventually he adopts red. He wears a red tank top, acquires a red car and pursues a job wearing a red and white uniform. Mendes uses this color transformation to show that Lester has remembered the things he wanted. He suddenly realizes what is lacking in his life and red clothing gives him a sense of power and control over his life. What...
