American Beauty (American American Beauty is a classic film directed by Sam Mendes, starring Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening, and produced by. The film was released in the United States on October 1, 1999, and won the 72nd Best Picture Award in 2000. The film takes a typical American middle-class family as an example, and sharply reveals the "public face" of daily life in America, permeated with a strong spirit of mockery.