Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation with his daughter's attractive friend.

American Beauty poster

American Beauty (1999)

... look closer

★ 8/10 September 15, 1999 122 min

Drama

Director: Sam Mendes  ·  Writer: Alan Ball

Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation with his daughter's attractive friend.

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Trailer

Director

Sam Mendes Sam Mendes

Cast

Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Lester Burnham Annette Bening Annette Bening Carolyn Burnham Thora Birch Thora Birch Jane Burnham Wes Bentley Wes Bentley Ricky Fitts Mena Suvari Mena Suvari Angela Hayes Peter Gallagher Peter Gallagher Buddy Kane Allison Janney Allison Janney Barbara Fitts Chris Cooper Chris Cooper Colonel Fitts Scott Bakula Scott Bakula Jim Olmeyer Sam Robards Sam Robards Jim Berkley Barry Del Sherman Barry Del Sherman Brad Ara Celi Ara Celi Sale House Woman #1

User Reviews (3)

tmdb70752507
tmdb70752507 April 8, 2020
★ 10/10

The film American Beauty to me is a film about purpose. What is your purpose in life? The film teaches that there is such great beauty in the small things in life and that sometimes you need to take a step back to allow yourself to take in the unfiltered beauty in the small things like a plastic bag dancing in the wind, playing with the leaves. The film tells it's audience that the beauty in the small details is much greater than society's typical image of beauty. The prominent rose in the film is a symbol of false, surface beauty; the expensive and romantic flower is amongst almost every single shot in the film reminding us that we need to look beyond the surface beauty of an entity and see the beauty within. This message surrounding beauty is empathised with the inclusion of the rose on the films poster and the tagline, 'look closer' indicating that to see real beauty one must 'look cl…

pullupenjoyer
pullupenjoyer November 19, 2022
★ 10/10

I first saw this film in my teen years. I didn't understand the plot of the movie back then but found the erotic scenes interesting. I think I was also impressed by Lesters change in attitude back then. Rewatching it in my early thirties the movie really catches me. The story of every character is catching, because everyone is struggling with different ordinary problems, some of them probably known by every adult. * Lester is fighting with his midlifecrisis and wants to break the devils-wheel of his boring everyday life. He also hates his job and the responsibility he has to carry because of it. * His wife Annette is frustrated by her job, because she isn't as successful as she wants to be. To bring more joy in her life she starts an affair with another (more successful) real estate salesman. * Their daughter Jane has a lack of self-confidence. She wants to be more like her more…

Andre Gonzales
Andre Gonzales April 16, 2023
★ 6/10

It was a ok movie. I didn't like Kevin Spacey creeping on a young teenager, but other then that it was a good movie.