American Beauty

American Beauty is a 1999 American drama film written by Alan Ball and directed by Sam Mendes—his directorial debut. The film is a satire of American middle class notions of beauty and personal satisfaction, focusing specifically on romantic and paternal love, sexuality, beauty, materialism, self-liberation, and redemption.

Wins

Nominations

Plot

Lester and Carolyn Burnham are on the outside, a perfect husband and wife, in a perfect house, in a perfect neighborhood. But inside, Lester is slipping deeper and deeper into a hopeless depression. He finally snaps when he becomes infatuated with one of his daughter’s friends. Meanwhile, his daughter Jane is developing a happy friendship with a shy boy-next-door named Ricky, who lives with a homophobic father.

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