American Beauty (movie)

***American Beauty*** is a 1999 American drama movie directed by Sam Mendes and written by Alan Ball. Kevin Spacey stars as Lester Burnham, an advertising executive who has a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend, played by Mena Suvari. Annette Bening stars as Lester's materialistic wife, Carolyn, and Thora Birch plays their insecure daughter, Jane. Wes Bentley, Chris Cooper, and Allison Janney also feature. Academics have described the movie as a satire of American middle-class notions of beauty and personal satisfaction; further analysis has focused on the film's explorations of romantic and paternal love, sexuality, materialism, self-liberation, and redemption.

Ball began writing _American Beauty_ as a play in the early 1990s, partly inspired by the media circus that accompanied the Amy Fisher trial in 1992. He shelved the play after deciding that the story would not work on stage. After several years as a television screenwriter, Ball revived the idea in 1997 when attempting to break into the movie industry. The rewritten script had a cynical outlook influenced by Ball's frustrating tenures writing for several sitcoms. Producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen took the script for _American Beauty_ to the fledgling DreamWorks studio, which bought it for $250,000, outbidding several other production bodies. DreamWorks financed the $15 million production and served as its North American distributor. _American Beauty_ marked acclaimed theater director Mendes' movie debut; courted after his successful productions of the musicals _Oliver!_ and _Cabaret_, Mendes was nevertheless only given the job after twenty others were considered and several A-list directors reportedly turned down the opportunity.

Spacey was Mendes' first choice for the role of Lester, though DreamWorks urged him to consider better-known actors. Similarly, the studio suggested several actresses for the role of Carolyn until Mendes offered the part to Bening without the studio's knowledge. Filming took place between December 1998 and February 1999 on sound stages at the Warner Bros. backlot in Burbank, California and on location in Los Angeles. Mendes' dominant directorial style was deliberate and composed; he made extensive use of static shots and slow pans and zooms to generate tension. Cinematographer Conrad L. Hall complemented Mendes' style with peaceful shot compositions to contrast with the turbulent on-screen events. During editing, Mendes made several changes that softened the cynical tone of Ball's script.

Released in North America on September 17, 1999, _American Beauty_ was acclaimed by critics and audiences; it was the best-reviewed American film of the year and grossed over $350 million worldwide. Reviewers praised most aspects of the production, with particular emphasis on Mendes, Spacey and Ball; criticism tended to focus on the familiarity of the characters and setting. DreamWorks launched a major campaign to increase _American Beauty_'s chances of Oscar success; at the 2000 ceremony the movie won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (for Spacey), Best Original Screenplay, and Best Cinematography. The movie was nominated for and won many other awards and honors, mainly for directing, writing and acting.

## Infobox (movie)

- **name**: American Beauty
- **director**: Sam Mendes
- **producer**: Bruce Cohen
 Dan Jinks
- **writer**: Alan Ball (screenwriter), Alan Ball
- **starring**: Kevin Spacey
Annette Bening
Thora Birch
Allison Janney
Peter Gallagher
Mena Suvari
Wes Bentley
Chris Cooper
- **music**: Thomas Newman
- **cinematography**: Conrad L. Hall
- **editing**: Tariq Anwar
Christopher Greenbury
- **studio**: Jinks/Cohen Company
- **distributor**: DreamWorks, DreamWorks Pictures
- **released**: September 8, 1999 (Grauman's Egyptian Theatre)
 September 11, 1999 (TIFF)
 September 15, 1999 (United States)
- **runtime**: 122 minutes
- **country**: United States
- **language**: English
- **budget**: $15 million
- **gross**: $356.3 million