Brilliantly brittle

Rating: 7/10 (22 February 2000)

There's no question as to how well this film is made, or how brilliant the performances are, particularly Kevin Spacey's. However,"American Beauty", like its predecessor, "The Ice Storm" is also amazingly depressing.
Are we supposed to feel sympathy for any of the characters? Are we supposed to think that this is where American society is going?
To me, the main purpose of a film like this is that the average movie goer is supposed to look at a film like "American Beauty" and think: "Hey. My life isn't as screwed up as I think. Look at these people."