Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation with his daughter's attractive friend.
Cinematography
Conrad Hall's roses-and-ash palette that made suburbia look edible.
Acting
Spacey at his most dangerously relatable; Bening's manic cheer from hell.
Score
Thomas Newman's music boxes and dread in perfect harmony.
Director
Sam Mendes
Kevin Spacey
Lester Burnham
Annette Bening
Carolyn Burnham
Thora Birch
Jane Burnham
Wes Bentley
Ricky Fitts
Mena Suvari
Angela Hayes
Peter Gallagher
Buddy Kane
Allison Janney
Barbara Fitts
Chris Cooper
Colonel Fitts
Scott Bakula
Jim Olmeyer
Sam Robards
Jim Berkley
Barry Del Sherman
Brad
Ara Celi
Sale House Woman #1
John Cho
Sale House Man #1
Sue Casey
Sale House Woman #2
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The floating plastic bag scene was entirely unscripted—Wes Bentley and Mendes found it on location, and Hall lit it like a religious vision.
Won Best Picture over The Sixth Sense and The Insider, then became shorthand for 'prestige films about sad white men'—fair or not, it changed 90s indie aesthetics forever.
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Reactions from the web
the older i get the more sense this movie makes
@davewyatt1468 66
One of the most forgotten characters in this film is Col. Fitts wife. She is completely devoid of emotion. Catatonic, like a survivor of extreme PTSD. Possibly from being beaten into submission, and emotionally traumatized from watching her son be sent to an institute for two years.
@Gkm- 197
Years ago I remember sitting crying in the movie theater after watching this very different movie
@rosemarywaldie4958 115
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