The most original film I've ever seen.

Rating: 10/10 (13 July 2000)

One of the best movies I've ever seen, "American Beauty" is a hauntingly dark comedy based in suburbia. Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey), his wife Carolyn (Annette Bening), and their daughter Jane (Thora Birch) create an intricate weaving of relationships with each other and with people in their lives: the school slut Angela Hayes (Mena Suvari), the family next door, the Fitts' (Chris Cooper, Allison Janney and Wes Bentley), and the competing real estate agent Buddy Kaye (Peter Gallagher) among others. The cinematography by Conrad Hall is a step above every other film I've seen and the screenplay by Alan Ball is simply outstanding, not to mention incredible work by each actor in this relatively small ensemble. Very powerful film that I'd recommend to ANYONE of the proper age!