American Beauty, directed by Sam Mendes in 1999, is one of the best and most unique films I have ever seen. One of the opening scenes of the film begins with a vision of Lester Burnham, his attractive blonde wife Carolyn Burnham and their daughter Janie and what appears to be the Burnhams' perfect life and perfect marriage. The suburban house with the well-mown lawn and the perfect garden, the white fence, the oak trees lining the street, the two cars parked in the driveway, a typical ordinary suburban neighborhood. But what Mendes emphasizes throughout the film is look closer and it will be clear that nothing is as it seems, there is always more to the story than what appears on the surface. Nobody is perfect, even a rose has its thorns. The main focus of American Beauty is the trio formed by the Burnhams family. It delves deeper into each of their characters until we truly observe them as closely as possible, as the film reveals the true beauty, or lack of, of each being. Each of the characters in this film are so consumed with trying to adapt to life and project the image they are supposedly living, that they fail to be happy. The film begins with a shot of a young teenager, Janie, through a video camera. He's talking about how he wishes his father would die, that he's a pervert in love with all his little friends, stating that he's not a role model. She is portrayed in a somewhat gothic, evil, affectless and rather emotionless way. In the next scene it becomes clear that it is Lester speaking from above and that he is already dead. This is very interesting because it implies that the next scenes have already happened and leads viewers to believe that Janie is the one who kills him. But at the end of the film it is shown that this image is not at all what it seems. Carolyn is the prime example of what it looks like to be something it isn't. Driven realtor, mother and wife (well, technically), completely consumed by the importance of projecting and maintaining the perfect image. Living according to the words of the "King of Real Estate" who stated that "to be successful you must always present an image of success". As Lester jokingly states, it was no coincidence that "the handles of his pruning shears match his gardening gloves".