Should be every man's personal guide

Rating: 10/10 (10 August 2005)

This film is AMAZING! For Sam Mendes' first film it is truly mind-blowing. Kevin Spacey is wonderfully cast as a man bored with his life, who has the mid-life crisis of a life-time. It has everything a mid-life crisis should have; a new 'va va voom' car, a hot, younger chick and muscles! Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey)has become my dad's own personal hero. However, this film is not just mindless entertainment. The plot takes an interesting turn as Lester starts to realise the importance of life and his family. The entire story is beautifully entwined to produce a result where any of the characters could end up being Lester's murderer.
With Conrad L. Hall's beautifully done cinematography, this film has been created with a huge conscience. The way that the camera pans left as Lester is killed, shows us that the violence is not the subject of the film. It is focused more upon what Lester learns in the last moments leading up to his death.
The music also adds to the superb creativity in this film. In what was potentially a cheesy moment, where Jane and Ricky are sat watching a homemade movie of a plastic bag flying in the air, Thomas Newman added the crucially subtle music that makes this moment meaningful instead.
There are too many wonderful things to say about this film now though, so i'll leave you with this one last comment: Watch this film if it's the last thing you do, because you will never see another film quite like it.