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11th Hour, The Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies. |
American Beauty
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MPAA RATING: R for strong sexuality, language, violence and drug content
Starring Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Peter Gallagher, Wes Bentley, and Mena Suvari
Provoked by forbidden passions, Lester Burnham (Spacey) decides to make a few changes in his rut of a life, changes that are less midlife crisis than adolescence reborn. The freer he gets, the happier he gets, which is even more maddening to his wife, Carolyn (Bening), and daughter Jane (Birch) --especially when he turns his lustful gaze toward Jane's friend, the sultry Angela (Suvari). (Dreamworks SKG)
| GENRE(S): | Drama |
| WRITTEN BY: | Alan Ball |
| DIRECTED BY: | Sam Mendes |
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: October 24, 2000 Video: May 9, 2000 Theatrical: September 15, 1999 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 121 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: | USA |
| LANGUAGE(S): | English |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The average user rating for this movie is 8.7 (out of 10) based on 89 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Daniel P. gave it an8:
A brilliant film, that shows forbidden love and family destruction.
Patrick D. gave it a10:
Touching, beautiful and very original.
Harry E. gave it a10:
This film definitely is one of my all time favourites with such beautiful moments combined with great satire and sadness. Spacey and Bening are flawless.
Dandy Pants gave it a10:
Superb movie. Although it probably wouldn't have received a 10 if Spacey wasn't playing the lead. Easily the most convincing and memorable character / performance ever. It's clear that many of the "reviewers" of this movie didn't understand the underlying themes. Although family is a part of the movie, it is not the central theme. The portrayal of family life is incidental, and is only part of the bigger picture. One reviewer said that the movie relied on "rote cliche" and as pointed out by another reviewer, this is deliberate. Ultimately the film is about the desire to be free and the consequences of this desire in American culture. A culture that supposedly is based on freedom. Lester wants to be free from his career and his dominant wife. Carolyn wants to be free from her own meticulous nature and self-doubt. Jayney wants to be free from her parents. Ricky wants to be free from his Dad's expectations. Frank wants to be free to express his homosexuality. Angela wants to be free to be herself but for whatever reason plays a role instead. Despite living in the land of the free, every character experiences great difficulty in being who they want to be and the consequences for their desires are great. [***SPOILER***]Lester is eventually killed, Carolyn's marriage is ruined and her lover ends the relationship. Ricky is estranged from his father. Frank murders to keep his secret and so on. It is clear that one has to find a balance between the desire to be free and the social responsibilites that we live by. The movie concludes that happiness and beauty is not in the grandiose religious, familial and economic pressures of 'ordinary' life, but is found in the daily appreciation of the little things we ignore as we try to 'succeed'. We all want to be free, but the way we live doesn't allow us to be.
S B. gave it a10:
American Beauty is my favourite film of all time, followed by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Mulhholand Drive. It is a near perfect movie. It's use of "cliche" is very deliberate. Each scene is flawlessly connected with the underlying theme, symbolized in red. If you don't understand what I am talking about, you need to rewatch the movie. Then Alan Ball gives us Six Feet Under - Genius.
Christopher J. gave it a7:
This movie had some uncomfortable twists, and I appreciated all of them. The tension was almost unbearable for me at times, but the releases were satisfying enough. When the husband throws a dinner plate across the room, I almost wet myself. Some nudity parts and parental abuse parts could have been removed or toned down to improve the overall quality, but overall a fun film to watch.
Patrick D gave it a5:
This film along with Chicago and Crash are some of the most overrated pictures of the last 10 years to win best picture. At heart, American Beauty is a failed satire. It takes rote cliches like the father with a midlife crisis to the amateur film maker to the gay retired soldier and does nothing about them. You have potential to skewer the American nuclear family and the suburban ennui, but instead we get a hackneyed plot. Notable mostly for Annette Benning's performance, this movie is pedestrian and worth watching if you like WASPs trying to emote.
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