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User Reviews for: American Beauty

KayP97
8/10  2 years ago
Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) is having a mid-life crisis and tries to turn his life around after becoming infatuated with his daughters friend Angela Hayes (Mena Suvari).

This is probably the best dark humour film to exist. This movie depicts real life that you see every day but probably don't really notice. Watching a family that is so distant between each other but try to pretend they are ok is something many people may be able to relate to. Seeing Lester finally let all his frustrations out and speaking his real truth of how he feels was satisfying. This is a movie that will be viewed and experienced quite differently depending on what part of your life you are currently in. Some will currently relate to it; some will dread it and find it unsettling and some may just shrug it off. Now while they seem relatable, they are definitely not likeable characters, but Sam Mendes does a really great job at sucking you in with complex ones.

Kevin Spacey is fantastic in this movie and deserved his Oscar for best actor. The rest of the cast were also all excellent except for Annette Bening. I got to be honest, I didn't like her in this movie. Sam Mendes made something so mesmerizing in his directional debut. From the enthralling camera work to the genius script, it was all wonderfully crafted. It all felt unique and special. The score is also incredible, some of the song choices was great.

It covers topics that I don't think you would get away with in todays world. It is basically pedophilia, and I really don't think it would sit well. People nowadays can be quite touchy.

I do think this movie does a good job at making people in similar positions as Lester's to really evaluate their life. Of course I wouldn't recommend going down the same road as he did, but I think most of you choose a different path that leads to a better and healthier life style.

American Beauty that truly resonates with the audience in different ways and while not quite a masterpiece, I do think is a great film. 8/10.
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stempst0r
/10  one year ago
I first saw this film in my teen years. I didn't understand the plot of the movie back then but found the erotic scenes interesting. I think I was also impressed by Lesters change in attitude back then.
Rewatching it in my early thirties the movie really catches me. The story of every character is catching, because everyone is struggling with different ordinary problems, some of them probably known by every adult.

* Lester is fighting with his midlifecrisis and wants to break the devils-wheel of his boring everyday life. He also hates his job and the responsibility he has to carry because of it.
* His wife Annette is frustrated by her job, because she isn't as successful as she wants to be. To bring more joy in her life she starts an affair with another (more successful) real estate salesman.
* Their daughter Jane has a lack of self-confidence. She wants to be more like her more attention-getting friend Angela.
* The neighbor Colonel Frank is militant, conservative and wants to give his values to his son. As he thinks his son is gay, he thinks it is his failure because of himself feeling attracted by men.
* The neighbors son Ricky is a survivor. He tries to mimic to be a good son to his dad to stay out of trouble with him. Because he wants the newest technology (TVs, Camcorders, etc.) he is dealing with drugs.
* Angela lies that she is sleeping with a lot of boys just to feel more self-confident when her friends geht jealous. She wants to become a model and tries to avoid to be ordinary in any way.
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Andre Gonzales
/10  9 months ago
It was a ok movie. I didn't like Kevin Spacey creeping on a young teenager, but other then that it was a good movie.
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Nathan John Cooper
/10  4 years ago
The film American Beauty to me is a film about purpose. What is your purpose in life? The film teaches that there is such great beauty in the small things in life and that sometimes you need to take a step back to allow yourself to take in the unfiltered beauty in the small things like a plastic bag dancing in the wind, playing with the leaves. The film tells it's audience that the beauty in the small details is much greater than society's typical image of beauty. The prominent rose in the film is a symbol of false, surface beauty; the expensive and romantic flower is amongst almost every single shot in the film reminding us that we need to look beyond the surface beauty of an entity and see the beauty within. This message surrounding beauty is empathised with the inclusion of the rose on the films poster and the tagline, 'look closer' indicating that to see real beauty one must 'look closer', a task that typically requires more thoughtfulness and less immediate facial value judgements that make up the typical image of beauty.
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