The films are always predictably flawless in their technical execution and almost always the "uplifting, feel good" kind of maudlin trip that one has grown so used to. Recent winners only add weight to this theory. Take for example last years Best Film Shakespeare in Love which was sugary sweet, smug and content in its literary claptrap. Junk Food for the literati.

Then there was Titanic which swept to no less than 10 Oscar Awards and was a beautifully crafted if gushingly sentimental slice of corny ham. Before that we had the overly sentimental and melodramatic English Patient and prior to that the morally correct Braveheart and the perfect uplifting example, Forrest "unbearable"Gump.

Clearly Oscar doesn't easily reward anything that is a little adrift of the norm and certainly avoids topics that can be misconstrued by an audience of sound ethical values of being in any way deviant. After years of congratulating the humdrum it comes as an enormous surprise therefore to find that the film that is being tipped for this years Award is a very black tragic-comedy that is utterly refreshing in its deviancy and ability to stare some home truths bluntly in the face.

American Beauty's 8 nominations suggests that Oscar may have finally had his fill of pandering efforts as this film is anything but that. Its stark honesty and savage decimation of the American Way rings so true that the film despite clearly being directed at the American Way of life is far more universal in its exposure of human frailties. Weaknesses that are suffered not only by Americans but each one of us that chooses to avoid eye contact in the mirror for fear of discovering what may lie below the surface. Kevin Spacey has received most of the acclaim for the acting in the film and fully deserved it is too.

Here is an actor who has massive screen presence and an ability to come across as totally honest and unaffected. Equally brilliant in her portrayal as the mantra-reciting wife is Annette Bening who is superlative, matching Spacey all the way. Excellent too is the supporting cast with Mena Suvari, the nymphet, bound for a major career. Its not shocking in that this is an excellent film, so reminiscent of Harold and Maude an endearing Cult Classic that also went against convention.

What is shocking is that it has been nominated by the Academy for 8 Oscars including Best Film. There is a sense of real pain in the tragedy and terrific bite to the comic element and both combine quite magnificently to leave the viewer with an enthralling, entertaining and stimulating experience. Beauty also has the rare power to evoke a sense of self-assessment in its audience, quite an achievement in itself. One may have to revert to giving Oscar winning movies a chance after all, and hopefully by the time you read this review American Beauty would have cakewalked to a clutch of Oscars which should translate to at least an addition of $50 million to its already swelling Box Office gross. The film has just sailed past the $100 million mark in the US with power to add heaps more.

Incidentally American Beauty has failed to impress the Emirate censors who have refused to allow it for video release or cinema exhibition in their terribly holy land. This action just emphasizes how myopic one can be and that the attitude that if you bury your head in sand and all the nastiness will go away clearly still prevails in some parts.

It is exactly this duplicity that American Beauty targets so successfully.