American Beauty

The film that made Steven Spielberg cry. Mendes's sure-footed, inventive direction, a clever screenplay beating mercilessly at the hypocritical morals and warped relationships of the average American family, and phenomenal performances, including the supporting roles (the excellent Chris Cooper!!) made this unassuming film a well-deserved cinematic event of the year. The emotional ending only underscores the extraordinary and profound experience. When my friend and I walked home from the cinema, we hardly spoke a word, how deeply we were moved. MUST SEE! (03/09/2002)

Brilliant! American Beauty, or how to alternate tragedy with comedy every minute. The amazing performances are supported by a great script to create one of the most beautiful, funniest, saddest and (basically) most realistic films I’ve ever seen. (25/09/2008)

Along with Fight Club, this is my most personal film. While Fight Club flows mainly in terms of thought-provoking ideas, American Beauty scores with its emotions. The first time I saw it in my freshman year of high school, it hit me hard for weeks, something that also happened every other time I watched it. It has a slightly different effect on me nowadays. It no longer attacks the basic feelings of excessive affiliation with the characters (which may change when I’m forty), but as a perfect portrait of people who decided to defy convention, it still entertains me and still stirs emotions within me. There’s no point in bringing up the well-known names (Spacey, Conrad L. Hall, Mendes), but I will add the neglected (Cooper, the great game with the light at night) and add that this is one of the absolute "best films" I have ever seen. (03/09/2009)

The American dream come true. Only at first sight, though. It's a satire, it's a comedy and it's a chilling drama that will wring a good dose of emotion out of you. What else can you ask from a film? (04/02/2007)

I don't know why, but American Beauty and I didn't hit it off. There's something about it that I find completely off-putting. I find the movie a little too sleazy and over the top in places. The immense effort and fine acting destroyed all the emotion and made the film cold. (29/05/2011)

American Beauty became a huge hit when it came out in the United States, captivating both audiences and critics alike. It is considered by many to be the best American film of the 90s. Despite being Sam Mendes' first major film, it is surprisingly mature, skillfully crafted, and showcases his theater experience and talent for casting and directing actors. On the other hand, I never had the feeling that I was watching a great film. I got the impression that it was gliding on the surface, without going deep into the roots of behavior or showing the causes of events. Instead, it creates somewhat stereotypical caricatures instead of fully developed characters. It doesn't present any solutions, and all the characters behave conventionally, with their rebellion being completely harmless and stemming from morally debatable positions. Despite all this, it is still one of the significantly better films created in the 90s, and it is worth seeing. Overall impression: 80%. (02/07/2007)

On a first viewing, it is an original film experience that delivers a probe into the American middle class presented in an unconventional and unique way. However, I believe that with each subsequent viewing, the viewer's satisfaction is slightly undermined, and the resulting product seems weaker and weaker. Sam Mendes has a sensitive and diligent direction, emphasizing details, and the screenplay is excellently developed, especially when it comes to the characters. Nevertheless, the whole thing seems too polished and meticulously arranged to me. It's as if with this film, Mendes wanted to say “I am a true artist, look at me.” (13/11/2005)

Admittedly, it scares me a bit that I fully identify with the character of a middle-aged, declining pussy-whipped guy who falls for his daughter's hot friend and gets a new drive in life with visions of a redemptive fuck, but on the other hand, Kevin Spacey's Lester is the only character that the script portrays believably and properly tragicomic, unlike the other peculiar individuals who represent various psychological, hormonal or opinion extremes, whose merging into a single plot weave is admittedly cinematically impressive, but intellectually overwrought and simply unbelievable. The actors are, of course, excellent (besides the amazing Spacey, for example, there’s Chris Cooper and his militant asshole) and, with the help of one of the most beautiful melancholic soundtracks, Mendes leads the story in such a brilliant way that the final minutes are indelibly etched in your memory. That said, a film festooned with accolades and regarded as inspiring, concise and artistically distinctive should look different, certainly more explicit and unconventional – this is an exemplary, suitably forward-looking Hollywood jigsaw puzzle that just manages to look extremely clever and functional, and I quite adore it. (15/04/2017)

Unique film that relies on absolutely captivating performances, as well as on a great screenplay and excellent direction. Kevin Spacey guides you through small-town life and its façade is torn off like a bandage, revealing the rotten tissue underneath. And yet, it is still entertaining, emotional, and you will be on the edge of your seat. And then there's Mena... (04/04/2016)

I've seen this film many times (and probably will many more times :)), however I'm only writing this review now. The reason is the same as with The Dark Knight (I understand that this "comparison" may seem a bit bizarre at first glance.)) – I consider American Beauty to be a perfect film that I love because of one rather significant thing, and that is that those less than two hours of storytelling by Sam Mendes and Alan Ball absolutely got me and got to me. Mendes' directorial skill is evident from the very first minutes as he gradually introduces the viewer to that advertisement for a happy marriage, and also to the fact that many things in human life are one big absurdity that will one day come to an equally absurd end... I really don't know what to single out first – Kevin Spacey's acting, Alan Ball's brilliant screenplay and Sam Mendes' equally brilliant direction, Thomas Newman's beautiful score, or the performances of the other actors involved. American Beauty is a wonderful film, even if it is actually a rather scathing critique of America itself. :) (30/10/2010)

A great ride with the absolutely amazing Kevin Spacey that is simply unforgettable! I continually re-watch the film. How many films can I say that about? There aren’t many... (02/05/2020)