“American Beauty” is a deep film with many hidden meanings. Here, things are never as they appear on the outside. The actors do a brilliant job portraying their characters, really getting into their roles. This is the best movie I’ve seen in a long time.

Kevin Spacey plays Lester, a depressed husband and dad growing more and more ­despondent each day. Annette Benning plays his wife, Carolyn, who is so obsessed with being perfect she forgets why she is living. She lets her obsession with success take over her life. Thora Birch plays their daughter, Jane, an average teen who thinks her parents couldn’t be any dorkier.

Lester reaches his breaking point when he meets his daughter’s friend Angela, played by Mena Suvari. He develops an infatuation with her and starts changing things in his life to get her to like him. Lester wants to break free from his suburban life. Carolyn and Jane are affected by Lester’s sudden changes. Their family life starts to fall apart right ­before your eyes, with a number of shocking surprises.

“American Beauty” shows that just because you have a white picket fence and a “perfect” family doesn’t mean that it’s beautiful. There is not just one definition of beauty, and many find it in the most unlikely places. With its ­surprise ending, you’ll never forget “American Beauty.”