I thank this film for inspiring the series "Desperate Housewives". A drama that shows life go from bad to worse!

Rating: 10/10 (16 December 2017)

I had actually seen the series "Desperate Housewives" first and I always wondered where the unique directing style and perception on day to day life, household dynamics and social interactions between loved ones, friends and strangers, had come from. When I sat down to watch this film, I slowly noticed similarities between the series "Desperate Housewives" and this film.
The film "American Beauty" follows the lives of normal families living in one neighborhood and throughout the film, you get to see each family deal with their own problems as families and as individuals.
The film starts off with comedy and denial, and as the film continues on, you can slowly start to see each individual person start to break out of their own restricted life situations and this causes bigger problems and eventually the film ends with a climax where selfishness, self loathing, arrogance, lack of appreciation and desperation takes over and even results in the worst kinda of situation imaginable in what seems to be a normal neighborhood.
For me personally, I think this film is subtly showing how any human being, if they are restricted, push boundaries. If they are unappreciated, they develop feelings of worthlessness. If they are arrogant, then it might be because they are over compensating for a fragile ego. If they are selfish, it might be because they are desperate to get what they want, because in life, they are not getting something that they truly need and if they are desperate, then they can be capable of the most underhanded, extreme and shocking acts!
Human beings can only be pushed so far and I think if we are all pushed too far, then it becomes dangerous and this film clearly shows how any one is capable of anything!