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"My name is Lester Burnham. This is my neighborhood; this is my street; this is my life. I am 42 years old; in less than a year I will be dead. Of course I don't know that yet, and in a way, I am dead already."

This is the tantalizing opening line of "American Beauty", a modern masterpiece where director Sam Mendes and writer Alan Ball dare us to "look closer" with unflinching honesty at hypocritical suburbia.

Immediately our storytellers inform us they plan to kill off the lead character, which engages the audience in the problem solving process right from the start. Who is this man, and why is he going to die? How is he going to die? Every scene afterwards is a piece to this puzzle, and the viewer is compelled to race to put them together and figure it out before the story reveals itself to us.

Kevin Spacey turns in an Oscar winning performance as Lester Burnham, a self described loser who walks though his own life like a zombie; dissatisfied with his marriage, his family, and his job. He speaks of these things in a sardonic, if not resigned, voiceover dialogue which invests us in his character immediately.

This is a good thing, because as Lester says of his days after the morning shower, it's all downhill from there.

You see, Lester's awakening comes in the shape of Angela - the beautiful friend of his teenage daughter. He begins to divulge in beautifully orchestrated fantasies that revolve around this forbidden fruit.

And, even more disturbingly, begins crafting his life carefully around this rather nefarious goal.

Given that his wife cares more about keeping up appearances of a happy marriage than actually having one, perhaps his breakdown is justified. In one of the more artful scenes in the movie, we get a peak into Carolyn Burnham's character as she attempts to sell a house; in constant (and losing) competition with her rival "The Real Estate King". Annette Bening balances this character's mania and desperation with breathtaking skill.

Also occupying space in Lester's world is his daughter Jane, played with dead on teenage angst by Thora Birch. Jane is insecure and bitter and relates to no one, even her friend Angela (Mena Suvari) - the super cool, confident, temptress who believes there's nothing in the world worse than being "ordinary". Since Jane sees herself as nothing but, even with her best friend she is unaccepted.

This changes when new neighbors move into the house right next door. Ricky Fitts (Wes Bentley) lurks behind penetrative blue eyes and a constantly

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