Got what it takes to become an all-time classic

Rating: 10/10 (20 April 2000)

Is there anything left to say about this movie, after all the awards, after all the approval and, yes, also after all the disapproval ("Hated it"; "Don't believe the hype!" etc.)
Listen folks: Believe the hype! For American Beauty is a masterpiece  for various reasons of which I'd like to mention a few. First of all there are just a couple of movies that contain so many "magic moments": Scenes to remember for a long, long time after you left the cinema. Scenes which instantly come to your mind when thinking of a movie. Scenes like these:
Angela lying in the bathtub full of rose petals. Lester driving in his car, smoking pot and loudly singing "American Woman". Colonel Fitts, soaking wet, entering Lester's garage. The love scene between Lester and his "object of beauty", ending with Angela's confession. And so on and so on.
Not to forget the plastic bag dancing in the wind, a magic moment that might make film history. And finally the movie's last sequence, Lester's last words  an ending that is sad and beautiful at once.
Apart from that, American Beauty shows us the dark voids that lie under the squeaky clean surface of the middle-class homes. It opens our eyes for the beauty in life. It makes us think whether happiness really lies in an Italian designer sofa and a bungalow with a swimming-pool or maybe rather in the golden brown leaves falling from a tree on an autumn day. Or in the faces of the persons we love.
When Lester has spoken his last words and the screen is dark, you do leave the cinema but don't necessarily leave the movie. Maybe you never will. In this impact on the viewer lies the strength of American Beauty, not to mention its other qualities like great acting, directing and cinematography.
This movie is one of the 20 best I have ever seen. It has got what it takes to become an all-time classic. 10/10