puts our definitions of Normalcy and Beauty under scrutiny

Rating: 10/10 (25 March 2001)

This movie blew me away. It puts society's definitions of Normalcy and Beauty under heavy scrutiny. What appears ordinary is often captivating; what appears unique is often forlorn; what appears powerful is often empty; what appears strong is often weak; what appears strange is often beautiful.
Every character in this film is brilliantly chosen and interrelated thematically. There's a high-school girl who is insecure about being ordinary. Another high-schooler who has "made" herself unique by molding her persona and ambition around what others have deemed desirable. A working mom who desires social ambitions so much that she is losing sight of her life. A domineering father who has long-since lost sight his life and who has taken social mores and discipline to the extreme. A reticent mother whose life is dead and who is trapped in perpetual depression.
But, wait - there is hope. He is a teenage boy who lives next door. A strange kid who is both spontaneous and genuine - without social ambition, without social inhibition. He finds beauty in the purest form(like a dead bird or a floating plastic bag). He inspires both his girlfriend and her father to change their lives. Most notably, this happens with Kevin Spacey - the underappreciated husband, hated father, and corporate kick-boy who, inspired by his unique neighbor, recaptures his life by liberating himself from his suburban shackles.