User reviews

This film is one of a kind. After seeing this film last week, I was left with a hole in the pit of my stomach. It left many questions in my mind, and most of them cannot be answered. In my view, a film that makes me think after I watch it is second-to-none, and this film certainly delivers in that aspect.

I was amazed with the vivid imagery in this movie, as well as with the symbolism. However, what makes this film the best of 1999 is the acting. Kevin Spacey shines as Lester Burnham, and Annette Bening (Carolyn Burnham) isn't far behind. Supporting cast members such as Wes Bentley (Ricky Fitts), Thora Birch (Jane Burnham), Mena Suvari (Angela Hayes), and Chris Cooper (Col. Frank Fitts) only add to the drama of this film. I think the most special aspect of this film is how all of the characters intertwine in a way that is believable, yet fantastic at the same time. I congratulate Sam Mendes for his direction of this film, as well as Alan Ball for writing it. I don't think it could have been any better.

Rated R in the U.S. for strong sexuality, language, drug content, and violence, the film obviously deserves its rating. However, none of the causes for the R rating are overbearing, and all of them add to the plot-line of this film. While I don't think that this is a film for children, I would suggest that adults should view it with an open mind. I believe that the traits which many of the characters in this film have are found in many people around the world. Perhaps that is why this film hits close to home for so many viewers.

While billed by some as a "comedy-drama", I don't see anything about this film as funny. Sure, there are some comedic moments, but by the end, those moments were all but forgotten when faced with the grim reality of the conclusion of the events portrayed in this film.

If you want to watch a light-hearted film with some elements of comedy and some elements of drama, don't see American Beauty. But if you enjoy films that make you think, and are entertained by an excellent cast, excellent directing, and an excellent screenplay, this film should be at the top of your list.

My Rating: 10/10

I have come to see the movie with a certain prejudice. Everyone saying that it was so wonderful, so touching, so excited -- I usually tend to go with movies that nobody likes. Nevertheless, this one was a certain exception.

It is a wonderful psychological drama, a satire about the American community and about the American life; dark, painful irony and cynicism in the descriptions of life and characters; deep sarcasm on types of people in the community, habits of behaviour such as "...if you want to succeed, you always have to seem successful..." or "never stop smiling", parasites of the community, and, most importantly, the treatment of people who are "different", who are "freaky" to some extent; and eventually, there is no character in the film that is not odd in its way, although we have to wait for the very ending of the film, to discover this.

With very deep and accurate exaggeration, (most of) the characters in the movie demonstrate the worst, the darkest sides of their personality, while still remaining very human, very touching and very involving the observer. Everyone can find a certain similarity with characters and persons who he met in his life, in the characters described in the film. The tragi-comical events, the little pieces of funny, disturbing irony dripping from almost every episode, lead the observer to exploration of the American Beauty -- the beauty in life, and the way that we fail to find it, for all our life; the way we hide our feelings and emotions, even behind sullen walls of our sepulchre.

The acting is truly brilliant, the episodes are built logically, coherently, the dialogues are deep, thrilling, intriguing; every sentence and every word is deeply constructed, containing profound irony and intelligent elements of humors. The plot is very intelligently built, constructing a true indication of the sad situation of the American society, and an excellent ground for the actors.

An amazing movie, strongly recommended. 10/10

"American Beauty" is tour de force cinema. Sam Mendes' brilliant debut feature depicts a web of characters who yearn for their own 'American Dream' - yet, in the end, only one character truly attains it.

Having seen "Happiness" only recently, I could not help but draw comparisons: both films centre around a microcosm of society in which the people, in their own unique way, all strive to be successful or simply 'happy'. But here the similarities end: the characters in "Happiness" undergo a self-realisation process through which they become increasingly aware of their meaningless existence, and go on to wallow in their own depravity. "Happiness" shows no signs of redemption; whereas in "American Beauty" the audience is offered a sense of hope, of salvation, though the characters must endure a similar fate, or more accurately, they must endure the way of life in which they are trapped.

The pivotal character upon which this theme centres, is the father Lester, played impeccably by Kevin Spacey. He is presented to us as a bit of a loser who plays the subjugated figure in the home and at work. He appears resigned to an unhappy life in which he is treated badly by his wife and daughter and his boss at work. Seemingly beyond redemption, Lester transforms from being a loser.

Mendes portrays this transformation admirably well: he shows Lester on his 'path to enlightenment' pushed up against a grim background of suburbanite existence. These early scenes are well balanced, forming a steady rhythm of TV commercial-like vignettes which prove very comical, if at times unsettling. As Lester reflects in the film: "My life is like a commercial". And how this rings true: like in "Happiness", all the characters hide underneath this veneer of normality and respectability, yet they are all revealed to be nothing but the opposite: depressed, depraved and desperate.

Lester's wife, played by Annette Benning, is the most success-driven character in the story which renders her the most hopeless in the film's tone of moral conviction. "In order to be successful in life one must project the appearance of success" is the maxim she adopts from the 'king' of real estate, Buddy King. It is a phrase which resonates throughout the film: for Benning's pawn, life is all about keeping-up appearances. This is where Lester differs from her: his emancipation is enabled by him discarding the constraints of 'normal life' and following what his heart desires.

Lester is the catalyst in this narrative in which the ancillary characters either follow suit (as does his daughter and Ricky) or pay the price (as does his wife and the Colonel). The irony inherent in this film, and it grows with resonance as the film draws to a conclusion, is that the only character who truly becomes free must sacrifice everything in order to achieve it. Yet it is through his sacrifice that he is able to afford the surviving characters a glimpse of hope in life.

This film left me gasping for air: its hyper-realism conveys, at the same time, a portrait of the suburban comedy, a jolting-shock of realisation, and a cathartic sense of hope. Mendes depicts a certain people who, to varying degrees, all strive for a certain 'American Dream', yet so few actually attain it. Though whilst one may have difficulty with tagging this film with the 'feel good' label, the beauty of "American Beauty" is that it sits half-way between a desperate cry for help and a reassuring sense of happiness and fulfilment and that is cinema at its best.

When I first saw this movie in theaters, I found it to be very funny. When I rented it at home, I found it to be very sad and complex. Looking at it now, I realize that it is surely one of the most extraordinary films ever to come out of Hollywood. To some it may look trite or cliched, or maybe too un-ordinary to be worthy of its praise, but the overall impact of this film is extremely powerful. After you've seen it, you know you've seen something.

A few notable elements stand out. The direction is superb; this is visually a superior film, for the director understands the subtle changes in tone. The writing is equally compelling; the story effortlessly interweaves multiple stories to create one amazing movie. The haunting music is also notable. Lastly is the acting. Kevin Spacey has done excellent films before, and he can add this one to the list. He may be a little to witty to suggest the overshadowed character he portrays, but he simply disappears into the role. Annette Bening is also fine; a less strong role, but she is magnificent none the less. As the teenagers, Thora Birch is able to mesmerize us with one intense look; her "typical teenager" role is fleshed out completely. I enjoyed Mena Suvari's character equally. It seemed that she did not receive as much acclaim, but her performance evokes both innocence and experience, and her scenes toward the end give her a depth unlike any other character. And Wes Bentley, as the video-taping boy next door, is easily the most original character. At first he seems a little tense, but, like Spacey, he sinks into the role. His "purpose" in the film, unlike anyone else's, is a mystery, thus making him the most enigmatic person.

Most films are able to make a lasting impression on its audience, but never has a movie been known to "move" its viewers as much as this movie. It truly says something about life, no matter how predictable or tacky it appears, this film disturbingly shows us how to appreciate our individual lives, so therefore, when they are over, we each have something to remember.

I first saw this in theaters back in 1999. I loved it. I really really loved it. I've seen it four or five times since, and each time, I like it less. I just saw it again a couple of days ago, and I stopped it before it was over. At that moment, I decided to sell my DVD. It has now been excised from my DVD Collection, about which I have considerable pride.

The main reason is that I have come to feel very strongly that this film doesn't know what it wants to say. It takes a bunch of characters, constructs various relationships between them, and sets them loose to run around for two hours, at the end of which, what have we learned?

I've heard lots of people make comparisons between this film and another highly acclaimed movie of 1999 which I hate: Fight Club. Both films include philosophically flimsy but highly entertaining critiques of materialism. With Fight Club, the critique on materialism is made by the character who turns out to be the villain of the piece, who seeks to replace it with fascism. In American Beauty, the anti-consumerist is, first of all, a total hypocrite, and second of all, has a life changing epiphany the moment before his death, but never gets a chance to expound upon what that epiphany was.

On the hypocrisy charge, consider the oft-quoted scene when Lester Burnham (magnificently portrayed by Kevin Spacey) yells at his wife Carolyn (played in an over-the-top caricature by Annette Bening) for placing too high a value on material things, in this case, a sofa. Fine. He makes a good point. No one else seems to have noticed, however, that this is precisely the same scene where it is revealed that Lester has bought a 1970 Pontiac Firebird. Since we at no time see Lester enjoying the use of his car, the implication is that possession of the object is a good in itself, which is the very apex of materialism.

There are lots of other things that we don't see, and I never noticed until I "looked closer" how conspicuous they are in their absence. We never see Angela or Jane don a cheerleading uniform after their initial cheerleading scene. They never make any reference to being cheerleaders. The whole concept of cheerleading, then, is merely a mechanism (and quite a contrived, not to mention cliched mechanism at that) to introduce Lester to Angela.

I also noticed, when I looked closer, how painfully bad much of the dialogue given to the younger characters is. "Lame-o" "Geekboy" "Take a whizz" It's just horrid. And why, exactly, was Jane looking at a breast augmentation website? First of all, her breasts don't appear to need augmenting (when I saw this in theaters, I thought she must want to reduce her breasts, but upon looking closer, the computer monitor clearly says "augmentation", which means a process of adding to).

The worst flaw of the film, by far, is the fact that we have one horrible cliche repeated twice in the space of minutes in the final act. The homophobic marine turns out to be a repressed homosexual, and the slutty cheerleader turns out to be a virgin. For the love of God, who let those two howlers slip through. Bad enough that either made the final cut, but both?!! It defies understanding.

The scene that made me turn the film off, this final time that I watched it, was the scene were Jane and Ricky decide to run off together. I was never very comfortable with this scene, because, call me conservative, I'm just not thrilled about a girl dropping out of school at the tender age of seventeen (or so) and running off with her drug dealer boyfriend. But what really got my goat was when Ricky ridiculed Angela by calling her ordinary. Fair enough, Angela had it coming. But for Ricky to not only accept Angela's principle that ordinariness is bad, but to use it against her... that bothered me. Ordinariness or lack thereof is not a valid criterion for judging the worth of a human being. Ricky, having been set up (clumsily) as a heroic character, shouldn't have descended to such a twisted and hateful principle.

The whole film has the feel of having been made up as it went along. It is radically different from how it was originally planned to go. The prelude sequence and the scene later in the film which it foreshadowed have become utterly pointless since the removal of the subplot about Jane and Ricky being blamed for Lester's murder. Now, that subplot is a bit ridiculous, and was cut for a good reason, I agree. But why leave the set up if you're cutting the payoff? [Notice that Ricky shuts off the camera before Jane says "You know I'm joking, right?"]

The sequence where Col. Fitts spies on Ricky and Lester is straight out of "Three's Company." Fitts sees just enough to draw the conclusion that the writer wants him to draw, and nothing else. That's a classic example (and the most blatant I can recall from any film) of bad, contrived plotting. What exactly was up with Mrs. Fitts? Presumably, her scenes meant something in some previous, unreleased version of the story. The initial meeting between Lester and Ricky is built on numerous coincidences... Ricky just happens to be working there, and he works there just long enough to meet Lester!!! And what self-respecting drug dealer would give a man $2,000 worth of merchandise on the assumption that he'd be willing/able to pay for it later? It would have been more contrived if Lester happened to have $2,000 in cash while jogging, but "I know you're good for it" isn't much better.

This film is ambitious. There are lots of individual pieces of greatness in it. There are a lot of really good ideas. But on a fundamental level, it just doesn't work.

I first saw American Beauty when I was 17, about 8 years ago. It was interesting, but the plot was a bit creepy. But as time went on, I grew to appreciate the movie, and it's now one of my absolute favorite movies.

American Beauty is about a 42-year-old man named Lester Burnham, played by Kevin Spacey. He's in his mid-life crisis, and he hates his life. He hates his job, his realtor wife argues with him and they don't have sex (she even has an affair with another realtor), and his daughter Jane and him have a broken relationship.

Lester does not like any aspect of his life, and says that choking the chicken (to be less crass) in the shower is the highlight of his day. But then he meets a friend of Jane's named Angela, a gorgeous 17-year-old who, he thinks, will be the key to his satisfaction.

American Beauty has a clever way of showing desire- the color red. The Burnham's have a red door- their house is one of desire for happiness. Carolyn even cuts perfect roses in a covetness for happiness.

When Lester lusts for Angela, we see rose petals surrounding her in his fantasies. When he has a chance with her near the end, we see roses near them. And when he sees what he truly desires, we see roses again. These are just a handful of examples for Lester.

His wife Carolyn desires sex, but can't get it. At the dinner table, roses are in-between her and Lester, showing that she can't reach what she desires. But when she cheats on Lester, we then see them eat together with no roses on the table. Instead, Carolyn wears a shirt with a rose pattern. She got what she desired, while Lester has not- the roses are further away from him.

These clever symbols kind of tell their own story, and enhance the one told plainly.

As a Christian, and simply a person with morals, I remember how uncomfortable I was with the movie when I first saw it. Lust is a sin, how can I admire a movie that, while well-made, is about a married man lusting over a teenager?

However, the more I watched it, the more I realized that this immorality makes it one of the most moral movies I have ever seen.

You see, American Beauty is a story about the danger of dissatisfaction- with your marriage, with your job, with your life. That greed and dissatisfaction leads to downfall- to lust, to adultery, to greed, to immoral behavior, to selfishness.

When we look to God or selflessness instead of material things to be happy, then life has more meaning, more meaning than ogling over teenagers or getting a new car or job. We learn this from Lester's actions, and it's not too late for us.

American Beauty is a dark, unhappy movie. But it's a powerful and thought-provoking movie too, one that makes you think about it long after you watch it.

The tagline of the movie is "look closer." When you do, American Beauty has an effective message to give- the danger of dissatisfaction.

Much-praised film about a man facing mid-life crisis in suburbia, dreaming of playing Humbert Humbert to a Lolita that is his daughter's friend. There is only one word to describe this film: pretentious. Mendes thinks he is making the Great American Motion Picture but it is populated with cookie-cutter characters and it superficially touches on what the filmmakers regard as important themes. The acting is mediocre at best. Spacey gives the kind of performance that the Academy loves and awarded him with the Oscar but his acting here can be best described as mugging. Benning does not fare much better as his desperate wife.

Probably the best film of 1999. This dark comedy drama marks two fantastic feature film debuts with Alan Ball as writer and Sam Mendes as director (both winning oscars for their sterling efforts).

Kevin Spacey plays Lester Burnham, a man on the brink of a mid-life crisis, who suddenly becomes obsessed with one of his teenage daughters friends played by Mena Suvari. His daughter (Thora Birch) is, as Lester tells us; "a typical teenager. Angry, insecure, confused...". And his wife Caroline (Annette Bening) has an obsession of her own, her public appearance.

Life starts off on a downer for the Burnhams and their new neighbours the Fitts despite their lives looking good from the outside.

As life begins to improve (with most of the main characters finding what they think is love or new relationships) it soon all comes crashing down in the climactic final day.

The writing is nothing short of brilliant and made even more amazing by knowing that it comes from a first time feature film screen writer Alan Ball (who had had years of prior experience writing TV sitcoms - not that you'd be able to guess from the tone of this film).

The directing is on a par with the writing and Sam Mendes manages to get some brilliant performances from the great cast, who are all faultless. No doubt Mendes' theatre directing past played a huge part in directing the actors so well.

Another person worthy of a mention is the late director of photography Conrad L. Hall, another one of the five oscar recipients for this film.

All the elements in this film gel perfectly together to make one superb masterpiece. Not one person, either cast or crew, steals this film or does anymore than anyone else to make this film what it is. Truly an ensemble effort. 10/10.

This is by far one of the best, if not THE, movies of the 90's. "American Beauty" stole my vote immediately as I started watching it. The idea and concept of "American Beauty" is just some ordinary people on an ordinary block with ordinary lives.

Kevin Spacey plays Lester Burnam, a middle aged married man who has lost some hope in life. He has a job that is degrading, a wife who refuses to show any type of loving emotion towards him, a daughter who practically hates herself, and is judged constantly as a looser. But all of a sudden, he sees his daughter's friend, Angela, and something snaps in him to do something with his life. He quits his job and takes, the dreaded by most Americans, a fast food cook job. He starts working out and doing some illegal substances. Even though this sounds like he is ruining his life, it actually helps him and makes him realize how much he loves "the precious moments in his stupid little life." You have no idea what he is talking about I'm sure, but don't worry, you will some day. Kevin Spacey was by far the best actor in 1999 and deserved this Oscar 100%.

Annete Benning plays Carol Burnam, Lester's wife. She is a very fake and unsuccessful real estate agent who cannot get a sale. Her image in life is "in order to be successful, one most project an image of success at all times". You can tell, she is not happy with her marriage and starts to have an affair with the big boss of the real estate company. Again, seems horrible, but it helps her in the end. Annete was unfortunately robbed of an Oscar for this film.

The supporting cast: Thora Birtch who plays Janie, Lester and Carol's daughter, is extremely depressed and hates her body and herself. But when she notices a strange boy next door and develops a relationship with him, she realizes how precious life is and starts communicating with her family. Mena Suvari plays Angela, Janie's best friend, Lester's crush, and a girl who is clearly insecure despite her attempts at showing her sexy side to every guy in town. Wes Bentley plays Ricky, the next door neighbor boy who looks at something as simple as a bag being tossed in the wind as something beautiful. Some say that this was a very stupid scene, but I disagree. His dialog was perfect and made us look twice at something so simple. He won most of our hearts despite having somewhat of an arrogant attitude. Wes without a doubt got robbed of a nomination for this movie. Chris Cooper plays Ricky's father, Col. Frank Fits. He is a military Sergent who is very abusive to his wife and son and is an obvious homophobic that turns into an ironic situation in the end. Chris also should've been nominated.

The most stunning character actually to me was Allison Janney who played Barbara Fits, Ricky's mom, and Frank's wife. She was so beautiful and perfect. Her scene in the front room with Frank and Ricky, everything is so quite, and she says "I'm sorry, what?". Ricky says "Mom, no one said anything". When Ricky gets kicked out by Frank after a horrible accusation, Ricky says "Mom, I'm leaving". Instead of being like the average mom and trying to stop him or say things will get better, she knows this is best and says "OK. Wear a raincoat". Allison was just amazing and didn't get enough credit for her role.

If there could have been nominations for every role in this movie, they were well deserved. This is a terrific movie that should be watched by every adult. It'll make you look again at your life and think. What a great movie.

10/10

This movie was a joy to watch. I didn't know what to expect when I came into it. I had heard the buzz of the acting and the story, etc...but we've all heard that before and had been disappointed, but not so with this one.

Kevin Spacey plays this part to a "T". He is strong when it requires and meek when it is needed. His emotional rollercoaster ride is a trip to partake in. Annette Bening is marvelous as well. I think they both should be nominated.

The support cast is also spectacular. Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, and Mena Suvari all give great performances as the troubled "Teenagers" in the film. Of particular mention is Wes Bentley's performance, worthy of a supporting nomination as well.

This is a dramatic and funny tale of a man and his life in a state of turmoil and transition. When he happens to see a beautiful friend of his daughter's at a cheerleading exhibition, he is completely infatuated with her beauty. Using this as his inspiration, he attempts to change all aspects of his life. He confronts his marriage, his job, his ego, and his libido.

The music in this film is also very well chosen. There are moments when the music fits so perfectly with the scene that they meld together as one to present a perfect emotion.

The plot can get rather involved, but you will follow it endlessly to see where you go. I was simply involved, hook, line and sinker.

See this movie more than once, and skip some of the other movies out now that are dare I say, trash.

This should be on the top of many critic's lists this year and it is certainly on top of mine.

My Rating (1 - 10): 10

The intention is so clear that everything else falls into place, perfectly. Kevin Spacey's suburban husband and father reminded me of his character in "The Ref" and that could only be a good thing. Annette Bening and her giggle works wonders here. Their marriage is a tabloid version of a "Who's Afraid To Virginia Woolf" Which means very close to someone we know. The biggest surprises in the film. besides the amazing dexterity of Sam Mendes at his first outing behind the camera, are West Bentley. Chris Cooper, Thora Brch and Allison Janney. As I'm writing this 8 years after its first release, the Oscars and the whole hullabaloo, I'm very surprised that West Bentley hasn't become a major star. He is amazing in "American Beauty" the complexities of his character are based on recognizable human stands, the hardest to face up to and I went where he went. Thora Birch is lovely as the object of his attention and the film, I believe, is here to say.

What can I say, except that this film really knocked me on my keaster. I went in to the theater not knowing what to expect, but was pretty sure it would be worth the ticket price. Boy was I happy when I left. Not only was it worth the ticket, I paid to see this film two more times. This film is virtually perfect. The acting is superb, the story is magnificent, the narrative is brilliant, and the structure of the film is truly groundbreaking (absolutely loved the last 20 minutes). What really surprised me about this film was how well the cinematography was done. In a small, character driven film such as this, it is very unusual to have such great cinematography. With this film, there is something interesting going on in every scene, not many films you can say that about. In a year where first time directors have made some of the best films, Three Kings, Being John Malkovich, etc... Sam Mendes seems to have out-done them all. Though I have yet to see The Green Mile or Magnolia, I find it hard to believe that either film will out-shine American Beauty. This film should easily win a substantial amount of the Oscars this year. What's up with all the cirtics awards snubbing it so far?

Speechless.

This film is perfect from start to finish. This film has a certain balance between reality and imagination that just makes it feel so genuine and authentic which is rare to find nowadays. The actors in the film are so talented and they make the film feel like someones reality, the acting is so natural almost like your part of their story, their world. The movie conveys how murky and unclear our lives have become, how we've drowned ourselves is societal norms, the idea of blending in and success which slowly makes us numb and unaware of the beauty around us hence the quote "There is so much beauty around us". It reveals that humanity has evolved to think that life is so complicated and has so many various elements to it, but in reality life is simple, we don't need all the things we have, we don't need to strive to be normal, we don't need to follow the crowd it just goes to show how all these unnecessary factors of what we think is life is severely blinding us to beauty. It shows how much of life we take for granted and it foreshadows how one can only truly understand and believe in what I just said after a life time of living in a controlled, confined and trapped illusion that we call reality. Overall an eye opening film.

This should not be in the top 100 movies of all time. The acting is good but it's not even Kevin Spacey's best. The plot is often forced and many characters are left undeveloped. The dialogue is so-so. Anyone that calls this a 10 or the best movie of all time is likely pretentious or dumb. Perhaps they want to be deep but just don't actually know what is or isn't deep. Also the score is downright terrible.

American Beauty is, without a doubt, one of my all time favorite movies. The cast is beyond incredible-Kevin Spacey appears to have a sketchy personal life, but this isn't about his real life-his acting in this movie is brilliant. His relatable, funny and intelligent style has you glued to the screen from start to end. Annette Bening is superb; I can see no one else playing this role; she's simply fantastic; everyone else was spectacular as well-from the entire neighboring family to Mena Suvari, all did an outstanding job both independently and as a team. The plot line and twists were just genius; it's so real and bittersweet at the same time. This movie is one I constantly bring up to new friends and acquaintances and although it premiered almost 2 decades ago, it has left a lasting impression. If you haven't already, and you're looking to be thoroughly entertained, watch American Beauty. I can't say enough good things about it. It is truly one of a kind.

Kevin Spacey was one of the hottest actors in Hollywood before he ran into his period of decline. There was no film, nor role, that he could not handle. He was versatile, had a sense of humor, and could play deadly dramatic roles with the greatest of ease. He excels in this film about the alienation of a middle-aged man with his unfortunate lot in life. He wants to be successful, but he hates being a yes-man, a man who has no substance, merely form. In other words, his two-faced insincerity begins to gnaw at his inner self. His hypocritical behavior is temporarily halted by a pretty young thing, but eventually, his true character comes to bear, and that is not in any way, shape or form like the pretty young thing. There will be millions of middle-aged men who will be able to relate to this film.