American Beauty

1999 • Movie • 38,231 views

Overview

Behind every neat lawn on this street, somebody is quietly falling apart. Lester Burnham, played by Kevin Spacey, is a middle-aged ad executive who hates his job, his marriage, and the numb routine his life has become. His wife Carolyn, played by Annette Bening, is a driven real estate agent who can't stand him anymore. Their daughter Jane just wants out. Then Lester falls for Jane's friend Angela, quits his job, starts flipping burgers, and chases the feeling of being alive again. He's narrating from beyond the grave, by the way, telling us he'll be dead within a year. Darkly funny, deeply sad, and sharp about suburbia, desire, and the search for meaning. It finds beauty in weird places, and it knows beauty doesn't always save you.