Film · 1999 · Drama
American Beauty
Directed by Sam Mendes
1999
★ 4.5 editorial score
Conrad Hall photographed suburbia like a crime scene and took the cinematography Oscar for it: Sam Mendes came from the theater and made the most contested Best Picture of its era.
“American Beauty strikes an unusually successful balance between the mordant and bright. Its vision of curdled suburbia, where Lester's marriage is ''a commercial for how normal we are when we're anything but,'' is also somehow embraced with unlikely affection. And it manages to end on a note of acceptance, even in the wake of its forced yet brilliantly staged, devastating climax.”
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