An Underrated Masterpiece for the Ages

Rating: 10/10 (20 February 2016)

American Beauty is one of most underrated movies in terms of its ranks among the greats. It is a masterpiece on all levels and has the hardware to show for it, with five Oscars including best picture.
The movies original screenplay written by Alan Ball is a great story about the average middle aged man in America, and how his life takes a turn for the dramatic. Although the primary focus of the film is on the main character, Lester, he does a great job of developing the stories of the other characters such as his wife, daughter and new neighbors. In just the two hours this film is running, one can almost get a perfect sense of all whop all the characters really are. The story brings everyday emotions and issues to the table, including anger, confusion, depression and lust. My favorite quality about the film is that even though it is an original screenplay it feels like it was taken out of a great American novel and projected on the screen, which is a unique quality that i have yet to see in any other film. This is what i believe the director Sam Mendes has done with the film. He projects what seems to be a story with such detail that that it feels like you are imagining the scenes straight from a written source.
The acting in American Beauty is on an elite few films posses. The cast is great all around, but the lead roles of Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening are unforgettable. Kevin Spacey performance as the lead role of Lester is one of the finest examples of acting in this history of cinema. Spacey brings out every emotion out in what is the simple role of a average middle aged man in a way that only he could do. He makes Lester one of the most unique characters one will ever come across, but yet he is not considered to be "all that special", this makes the audience connect with the charter on an even deeper level.
With that being said I believe that American Beauty is one of the greatest films ever made. I would consider it to be on a level with films such as The Godfather, Gone With the Wind and Schindler's List. It is one of my personal favorite and is an absolute must- watch film during your lifetime.