American Beauty is a 1999 American
drama film directed by
Sam Mendesand written by
Alan Ball.
Kevin Spacey stars as Lester Burnham, a 42-year-old advertising executive who has a
midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his teenaged daughter's best friend, Angela (
Mena Suvari).
Annette Bening co-stars as Lester's materialistic wife, Carolyn, and
Thora Birch plays their insecure daughter, Jane.
Wes Bentley,
Chris Cooper, and
Allison Janney also feature. The film is described by academics as a satire of
American middle-class notions of beauty and personal satisfaction; analysis has focused on the film's explorations of romantic, and paternal love, sexuality, beauty, materialism, self-liberation, and redemption.
Ball began writing
American Beauty as a play in the early 1990s, partly inspired by the media circus around the
Amy Fisher trial in 1992. He shelved the play after realizing the story would not work on stage. After several years as a television screenwriter, Ball revived the idea in 1997 when attempting to break into the film industry. The modified script had a cynical outlook that was influenced by Ball's frustrating tenures writing for several sitcoms. Producers
Dan Jinks and
Bruce Cohen took
American Beauty to
DreamWorks; the then-fledgling film studio bought Ball's script for $250,000, outbidding several other production bodies. DreamWorks financed the $15 million production and served as its North American distributor.
American Beauty marked acclaimed theater director Mendes' film debut; courted after his successful productions of the musicals
Oliver! and
Cabaret, Mendes was, nevertheless, only given the job after 20 others were considered and several "A-list" directors turned down the opportunity.
Spacey was Mendes' first choice for the role of Lester, though DreamWorks had urged the director to consider better-known actors; similarly, the studio suggested several actors for the role of Carolyn until Mendes offered the part to Bening without DreamWorks' knowledge.
Principal photography took place between December 1998 and February 1999 on soundstages at the
Warner Bros. backlot in
Burbank, California, and on location in Los Angeles. Mendes' dominant style was deliberate and composed; he made extensive use of static shots and slow pans and zooms to generate tension. Cinematographer
Conrad Hall complemented Mendes' style with peaceful shot compositions to contrast with the turbulent on-screen events. During editing, Mendes made several changes that gave the film a less cynical tone than the script.
Released in North America on September 17, 1999,
American Beauty was positively received by critics and grossed over $356 million worldwide. Reviewers praised most aspects of the production, with particular emphasis on Mendes, Spacey, and Ball; criticism focused on the familiarity of the characters and setting. DreamWorks launched a major campaign to increase the film's chances of
Academy Award success; at the
72nd Academy Awardsthe following year, the film won
Best Picture,
Best Director,
Best Actor (for Spacey),
Best Original Screenplay, and
Best Cinematography. It was nominated for and won many other awards and honors, mainly for the direction, writing, and acting.
Lester Burnham is a middle-aged advertising executive and magazine writer who despises his job. He is unhappily married to Carolyn, a neurotic yet fiercely ambitious real estate broker who grows red roses in their yard; their teenaged daughter, Jane, abhors her parents and has low self-esteem. The Burnhams' new neighbors are
homophobic retired
United States Marine Corps Colonel Frank Fitts and his near-catatonic wife, Barbara. Their teenaged son, Ricky, constantly films his surroundings with a camcorder, collecting hundreds of recordings on videotapes in his bedroom. His job as a part-time bar caterer serves as a front for his secret
marijuana dealings. Col. Fitts is a strict disciplinarian who previously sent Ricky to a military school and briefly committed him to a psychiatric hospital. Jim Olmeyer and Jim Berkley, a gay couple who live nearby, welcome the Fitts family to the neighborhood. On the way to school, Col. Fitts reveals his homophobia while he angrily discusses the incident with Ricky.
Lester becomes infatuated with Jane's vain friend, Angela Hayes, after seeing her perform a half-time dance routine at a high school basketball game with Jane. He starts having sexual fantasies about Angela, in which red rose petals are a recurring motif. Carolyn begins an
affair with her married business rival, Buddy Kane. When Lester's boss and efficiency expert, Brad, tells him that he is to be laid off, Lester instead blackmails him for $60,000 and quits his job. Lester takes a minimum-wage job at a fast-food restaurant, trades in his Toyota Camry for his dream car, a 1970
Pontiac Firebird, and starts working out after he overhears Angela tell Jane that she would find him sexually attractive if he got in shape. He begins smoking marijuana supplied by Ricky. The girls' friendship wanes after Jane starts a relationship with Ricky. Jane and Ricky bond over what Ricky considers the most beautiful imagery he has filmed: a plastic bag being blown in the wind.
Lester discovers Carolyn's infidelity, but reacts indifferently. Buddy ends the affair, fearing an expensive divorce. Col. Fitts becomes suspicious of Lester and Ricky's friendship when he finds his son's footage of Lester lifting weights while nude, which Ricky captured by chance, leading him to believe that Ricky is gay. After spying on Ricky and Lester through Lester's garage window, the colonel mistakenly concludes the pair is sexually involved. He later confronts and beats Ricky for the supposed affair and accuses him of being gay. Ricky falsely admits the charges and goads his father into expelling him from their home. Meanwhile, Carolyn is sitting in her car in the rain, taking a gun out of the glove box while a voice on the radio talks about not being a victim. Jane argues with Angela about the latter's flirtation with Lester. In the midst of their argument, Ricky appears and convinces Jane to flee with him to New York City and assures Angela that she is ugly, boring, and ordinary.
Col. Fitts confronts Lester and attempts to kiss him; Lester rebuffs the colonel, who tearfully flees. Carolyn puts the gun in her handbag, shouting, "I refuse to be a victim!" Lester finds a distraught Angela sitting alone in their darkened living room; she asks him to tell her she is beautiful. He does, and they kiss.
Carolyn drives through the rain, rehearsing a confession to Lester. Just as Lester and Angela are about to have sex, the latter admits her virginity, prompting Lester to change his mind. He instead comforts her and the pair bond over their shared frustrations. Angela goes to the bathroom and Lester smiles at a family photograph in his kitchen. An unseen figure raises a gun to the back of his head, a gunshot sounds, and blood sprays on the wall. Ricky and Jane find Lester's body, while Carolyn breaks down crying in the closet. A bloodied Col. Fitts returns home, where a gun is shown to be missing from his collection. Lester's closing narration describes meaningful experiences during his life; he says that, despite his death, he is happy because there is "so much beauty" in the world.
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