One of the all time greats

Rating: 10/10 (13 November 2000)

"American Beauty" is quite possibly the most disturbing and brilliant films of the last decade, and easily the best. Truly magnificent performances enhance an already strong plotline, and Mendes' sure hand plays our nerves like tightly-wound violin strings.
It's rare that truly great movies get the Oscar recognition they deserve, but this one did. Ironically, however, Annette Bening gives the best performance in the movie, yet lost the Oscar to Hilary Swank (who, admittedly, was insanely good in "Boys Don't Cry"). While Kevin Spacey is excellent and Chris Cooper and Allison Janney solid, the real gems are the younger actors: Mena Suvari, Thora Birch, and Wes Bentley. It's nice to see that there are some young actors who actually know how to act, a rarity these days.
10+ stars.