An absolutely dark and beautiful film.

Rating: 10/10 (13 December 1999)

This is an amazing piece of work and it probably tops "The Insider", "The Sixth Sense", "EdTV" and "Bringing Out The Dead" as my favorite film of the year. Alan Ball's screenplay is one the modern wonders of the world and Sam Mendes's direction matches it (I can see why he bested Michael Mann as the L.A. Film Critics director of the year). Where did these guys come from? This story of an American family and the tiny slice of the world they live in is unspooled before us with the precision and fascination of a geneticist unravelling a strand of DNA through an electron microscope. This is not to suggest that the film is cold (far from it). It just felt like I was watching the characters lives from beneath their skins. Rarely have I felt like I knew an entire cast so well. This will be a hard movie to reward at Oscar time because every single performance hit exactly the right key ("L.A. Confidential" had the same problem), but obviously Kevin Spacey and Annette Benning should lead actor noms. Spacey has played laconic many times before (I can't think of a film where he hasn't been this way before), but not with the dry wit and comic timing he displays here. Even when he blows up it is dry. Benning has her best role since "The Grifters" and makes the most it. She is a Stepford wife with real ambition. They are a married couple who long ago gave up on the American Dream but are too comfortable to give up the Amercian Facade and this is Ball's key contempt. It is a very unique view. While the adults know that they are screwed up the kids still fight to have hope. It is their rebellion. Thora Burch is outstanding as the lone child of Spacey and Benning who is getting killed by her parents' cynicism. The most frightening performance is given by Wes Bentley as the next door neighbor kid who is constantly peeping and taping other people's lives, but also finding beauty amid the ugliness and chaos in some of the film's most moving scenes (a lot people will not get the significance and meaning of the paper bag, but those who do understand the film completely --I thought is was awesome). I think he is acting as the filmakers. Finally Mena Suvari is a revelation as the smart-ass and all-knowing teenage friend who reveals a heartbreaking vulnerability. This film is very dark but like "Bringing Out The Dead" there is a redemptive quality leaves you with hope at the end. I was floored by this. It is also a very funny film. American Beauty may be the best film of a very good year.