Good, but weird.

Rating: 8/10 (7 November 1999)

A good movie, but a weird one. Spacey does his usual good job, this time as a man with a mid-life crisis. Good plot, with everything following logically from one part to the next. Some things aren't explained, but most of the movie is through his eyes - he won't know everything, so why should we? Good job by most of the folks involved (especially Benning, Bentley, and Birch), good smooth editing, nice choice of music. The use of the roses (American Beauty is, of course, a type of rose) is an interesting touch, and it adds to the weirdness.
It's a good movie about growing up and growing old, but it also does a good job at showing how people get their first impressions of somebody or something, and the strange states of mind that humans are capable of.