A beautiful film that beckons you to look closer at your own life.

Rating: 10/10 (19 February 2002)

It has become commonplace to see a movie take a peek at the average man living in American suburbia; a man with the basic household consisting of a wife, a daughter, two cars, white picket fence and blossoming garden. However, few filmmakers touch on the slyly concealed dysfunction of such a perfect and average family. American Beauty touches on the hidden and specious beauty that is present in the world. Simply said, the film lives up to its tagline, `Look closer.'
American Beauty, a black comedy with many dramatic elements woven in throughout the plot, tells the story of Lester Burnham (played by renowned actor Kevin Spacey) as he meets and fights a mid-life crisis. Between his constant fights with his materialistic wife Carolyn, (Annette Benning) and his dejected teenage daughter Jane, (Thora Birch) poor Lester has little to be happy about. At the discretion of Carolyn, the family does their best to maintain a normal appearance in order to boost her confidence level as she steadily falls into depression herself.
All three family members are roused at nearly the same point in time by a string of seemingly unrelated events. Lester has his dying interests revived Jane's best friend, Angela, (Mena Suvari) for whom he has an uncanny infatuation from the day he first met her. He has many sexual fantasies involving Angela, all of which portray her covered in the petals of the American Beauty Rose. Through his obsessions with Angela, Lester begins to regain interest in his high school past-times, which include lifting weights, flipping burgers for a living and smoking marijuana on a regular basis.
Carolyn has her lively attitude rekindled through an affair with fellow real estate agent that simply calls himself The King. After her affair, her respect and tolerance for Lester's are lowered as she looks closer at his imperfections, thus creating even further static in the already failing marriage.
Jane experiences what seems to be her first encounter with a happy life when Ricky Fitts (Wes Bentley) moves in next door. Ricky, the son of a strict, racist ex-marine (Chris Cooper) and a cliché military wife (Alison Janney.) Ricky is infatuated with beauty, and helps Jane see the true beauty that exists throughout the world. All she has to do is look closer.
Mendes doesn't really do anything special besides a few noticeable close-ups and a few shadow effects towards the end, both of which further reiterate the already recurring theme of `Look closer.' It's through these simple effects that his visions of the masterful screenplay come to life.
American Beauty is a flawless film, which truly helps the view to see hidden beauty and dysfunction in the seemingly average world and in its people. Amazing acting by Spacey, Benning and Cooper further boost the film's emotional power, almost asking the viewer to look closer at their own life.