Review of American Beauty (1999) by Zach T — 20 May 2016

As humorous as it is devastating and real, American Beauty delivers stellar performances from all, and makes us think, perhaps a bit too much, about our own lives and meanings.

Humor and exhausting introspection mix with ease as we watch the inner workings of two suburban families slowly fall apart before our eyes. Those two things may sound a bit like oil and vinegar, but a beautiful screenplay blends them together enough so that the actors could take it and run with it.

Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening have arguably the strongest performances, with perfect comic timing that show us just how truly desperate these characters are. Oscar nods well deserved for both, but I have preference to Bening, as I can't help but imagine that a scene where she clings on to all of the clothes hanging in her closet and slowly falls to the ground was expertly improvised in an attempt to show raw human despair.

5 stars from me.