Rating: 
Summary: The dark underbelly of the American Dream
Review: "American Beauty" is a lyrical, though tragic, story of lost illusions and lost hopes, told with much satiric insight. It depicts upper-middle-class suburbia as a paradise lost. The almost Freudian perespective of the film delineates the welter of sexual and emotional drives, as well as the projections and repressions responsible for shaping and influencing supposedly "normal" behaviour. The chief characters (the disaffected husband) brilliantly played by Kevin Spacey, his faithless wife (Annette Benning) and their troubled daughter (Thora Birch) are depicted as affluent reapers of the benefits of the American Dream, though their lives are hollow, artificial and pathetic by contrast. This film is a damning overview of America today. The haunting music score, cinematography, scripting, acting and direction are of the highest standard. The film combines domestic tragedy with mystery, character study and some stylised and epiphanic symbolism as in the image of the piece of paper floating in the wind without cease, circling endlessly, circling in a void, roaming as if in desperation, floating with no place to go.
Rating: 
Summary: Unexpected story...
Review: I was totally mesmerised with this movie. Everything about it was carefully filmed and placed in ever so strategic spots. Any variation of frames would have thrown the movie into turmoil. I am not one to watch movies over again... unless they have 'it', and this movie certainly does. The cast was perfect, cinematography was fluid and clear, and I found that it was almost a 'feel good' movie, with the watcher rooting for Kevin Spacey's character. The ending was absolutely NOT what I expected, but what an ending it was! Kudos on a great piece of art.
Rating:
Summary: Look Closer...
Review: One of those rare films that blurs the line between mainstream and arthouse, AMERICAN BEAUTY features, above all, an incredible performance from Kevin Spacey (probably the best he's done in his career and this is coming from a fan) as a strung-out self-loathing everyman who goes through a turbulent mid-life crisis.Similar material is handled much differently (and I would argue just as effectively) in Ang Lee's THE ICE STORM, which is recommended as alternative viewing for fans who are looking for more of the same. David Lynch also directed a film that deals with what lies beneath the white-picket fenced exterior of the American suburb (look closer) in the absolutely stunning BLUE VELVET, which is also very highly recommended for fans of this sort of thing.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant All Around
Review: To be sure, "American Beauty" will strike some viewers as weird and moribund, but no film before it or since prepares one for its utter familiarity as it hits closer to home than most anyone I know expected. While not every character here feels identical to anyone I know (and thats a good thing, trust me) more often than not, Spacey and Bening are stand-ins for our friends, neighbors, families and even - ourselves. The simple theme that "everything is not as it seems on the outside" carries tremendous weight, and I dare the viewer to not see themselves and the people they know behind the curtain that separates truth from fantasy. Kevin Spacey proves why he is THE actor of our generation, while Menu Suvari, Wes Bentley and Thora Birch cast vivid characters likely roaming our neighborhood high school at this very moment. The four are uniformly grand. However, this is Annette Bening's shining moment. Nothing this actress has done before prepared me for a monumental performance that literally shook me to the core. She is at once in control of all around her and yet desperate to experience her own truest self, free from what she knows, who she lives with, and where she is headed. Bening captures her character's soul and sends it to the stratosphere, long suffering one moment, and kissing up the next. Her scenes with the "King of Real Estate" show a desparate range of emotion. Bening deserved the Oscar, though in a year dominated by Hilary Swank's superlative "Boys Don't Cry" Bening was a deserved first runner up. A movie that actually makes you think twice about your own existence and how your actions affect the world around you in unexpected ways.
Rating: 
Summary: I love it... because they told me to.
Review: I believe the only reason anyone thought this movie is good is because they were told to. It gave a very good illusion that it was saying something new or, at least, very, very deep.. but in reality it was just a stereotypical drama that told you which direction to go in... and of course, because we are so used to being lead this way or that, we go there. We say how deep it was and we say, "How true. How true." It's too easy to pull something off like American Beauty. It looked real pretty.. but other than that, I was disapointed. And, if you do happen to enjoy Kevin Spacey's performance, maybe you would like to watch "The Ref", "Swimming with Sharks", or "The Big Kahuna" becuase he plays the same exact stellar role in all of them.
Rating:
Summary: Astounding film
Review: This film breaks all barriers as we know it in the movie industry. It portrays innovative concepts that up until now, most producers have been afraid to make because of the possible knee-jerk reaction the public might have to it. It's true that this movie is not for everyone because it is new and controverial. But if you keep an open mind, you will thoroughly be entertained. Kevin Spacey gives a performance like none other and makes you wish he was your next door neighbor. This film is filled with great metaphors and visual beauty which makes for a great DVD to own to watch over and over again. The special features are amazing, which is worth the price alone. You will not be disappointed by this movie.
Rating:
Summary: surprising
Review: I love watching movies, but when I read the back of the box on this Oscar-winning movie, it just did not appeal to me. So, I asked around before watching. And, boy, did I get mixed reviews: "outstanding" "morbid" "amazing" "depressing" and above all: "weird" But, fortunately, I am my own person, so I watched it. It was surprising. Spacey gave a brilliant performance, and I was surprised by Thora Birch, whom I always seem to visualize as "Danni" in Hocus Pocus. She gave an amazing, coming-of-age performance as Spacey's daughter. This movie is so moving, so realistic that I can't help wondering... will this ever be my dad?
Rating:
Summary: Attention should be paid... Willy Lowman awakens.
Review: "American Beauty" brings a certain 'artistic' sensibility to mainstream film, but with more polish than one sees in many 'Art' films, to wonderful effect. The film scores points with me right off the bat for cinematography - aspiring filmmakers and photographers, buy this DVD. Richly colored and majestic, the blend of fantasy and 'reality' in this film is seamless and used to great effect. The script is first rate, showing us the brilliant resurrection and explosion of a lifeless American suburban family and the collateral effects on their neighbors. Kevin Spacey plays a middle-aged suburban husband who awakens one day and notices that he's completely alienated from his family, and that his life has lost whatever grace it might once have had. Taking this film a step beyond the "mid life crisis" cliche, his attempts to resurrect his own soul stirs the sleeping "I" in those around him. As with most heroic journeys, especially one in which the prize is so rich, there is a high price to be paid. More I will not say. Capital-A Art is painful, and any film that can take what could be a 2-hour ad for "Better Homes and Gardens" and turns it into a beautifully painful, compelling and even surprising character study of Life imitating Art imitating life deserves high praise. The studio deserves credit for allowing this film to be released "as is." See the film - it's worth buying. Oh, the commentary track on the DVD is very good. There are a few omitted scenes which really add nothing much, and the rest - I didn't bother. The film's the thing, to paraphrase the Bard, and a great film it is.
Rating:
Summary: Tragic.
Review: Everything that people say about this film is true. It is a sad but lovable classic. Detailing small-town suburbia in a quaint but kewl cast makes this movie realistic. It's no wonder why people are arguing over trivial items. This picture is worth the amount of money to get.
Rating:
Summary: A Real American Beauty
Review: I am surprised that there are so many negative reviews of this great movie. This movie is great. What does the viewer from Evanston mean, "art high and low"? I don't think this rips off anything. (And could the viewer say "film" any more times?) If there is any truth in saying that American Beauty gives the viewer both art AND trash, which I guess it does, the movie is saying that both of these things make America great. Kevin Spacey is GOD. It's a shame that more people don't see it because it's saying that sometimes garbage can be beautiful. I mean, at first you think that the two teenagers are going to kill the father but then they don't. That's real American Beauty.
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