11. American Beauty

Director: Sam Mendes
Year: 1999
Actors: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Chris Cooper
Plot: Set in modern day suburbia, it tells the story of Lester Burnham and his dysfunctional family; a daughter who hates him, and a wife who loves her job more than him... After accepting that he hates his life he begins to completely change his environment to a stress-free, easy-going lifestyle...
Music: Score by Thomas Newman, along with several famous tracks from The Who, Bob Dylan, and the Guess Who...
Why:

• Very artistic filming by Sam Mendes... Great use of colors, most notably the color red...
• Great acting by Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening
• A setting that many people can relate with of a middle-class suburban lifestyle...

Key Moment: After he is shot to death, Lester explains how the final flash of life is not a second, but more like an ocean of time... and that he cannot stay mad when there is so much beauty in the world...