American Beauty (1999)
More than a decade after David Lynch made Blue Velvet, Sam Mendes's debut blew gently into theatres like an abandoned plastic bag to remind audiences of what lies beneath in suburban America. Kevin Spacey plays hollowed-out office worker Lester, whose humdrum life begins to fall apart after he becomes obsessed with the friend (Mena Suvari) of his troubled daughter (Thora Birch).