Excellent movie that will really stop and make you evaluate your own life.

Rating: 9/10 (1 May 2008)

American Beauty, released in 1999 and starring Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, and Mena Suvari, couldn't be ordinary if it tried. The movie is a deep, wonderful, and penetrating film that will leave the viewer not only questioning their life, but American society as a whole. The movie hits on many key points ranging from conformity in society to individual perception, and really hits home the concept of social disillusionment. The tag line of this movie is "Look Closer", which is exactly what American Beauty does with its portrayal of the Burnham and Fitz families. On the surface both families appear to be well-off and happy, but in reality they are struggling greatly with what they want and what they think will make them fit into society. For example, Colonel Fitz on the surface despises homosexuals because he believes that they are not conforming to society's view on marriage, however, in reality he is upset that he cannot break the bonds of social conformism and be gay himself. The truth is, the only happy people in the movie or those who are able to break from society's rules and live their lives according to their own perceptionsunfortunately for most, they reap the consequences society deals to those who are unwilling to bend. Ricky Fitz is sent to a mental institution and ostracized by society because he does not keep the society's view on beauty. And Lester Burnham, though finally able to embrace happiness after waking from his twenty year coma, is killed. American Beauty combines not only great acting and directing, but also includes the audience by asking many questions that will make them stop and evaluate their own lives.