American Animals

The bad ratings might result because this movie is a mix of documentary and fiction, implementing real protagonists with actors etc, but for me this movie was intense, emotional, stylish filming, good acting and garnished with a cool soundtrack. definitely a must watch and one of the most underrated movies of 2018.

This is an interesting movie to write a review for. I didn't love it but wow is it incredibly put together and I super appreciate the style and choices they made here. American Animals isn't a typically structured movie. Rather than being a standard procession of events portrayed by the actors it flits back and forth between the portrayals and the testimonial narrative of the actual people this is about. The way it plays with that idea of their retelling of the events and how their varied perspectives sometimes play with the portrayal we're given is a fascinating experience and one that I will likely go back to in the future.

Yeah, I think that's where I really come down on this. I want to love this movie because of how much I'm fascinated by the way it chose to tell it's story but it just didn't click with me, which is disappointing. It's just slightly off for some reason for me and I think it's because that style is so cool and the rest of the movie just didn't live up to it for me. Even though the performances were solid, it just didn't stick the landing perfectly. I still think this is worth checking out for most people, if only for the experience of a different kind of movie.

Now here is one of the most unique films of 2018, both in the story itself and the way Bart Layton tells said story. The fact that they used the real life people for each of the four main characters to help propel the story forward in a documentary-style fashion is absolutely brilliant, and even hilarious at times. Unlike their real-life counterparts, these four actors seem to have a really great future, each having their own share of scenes to steal. Unsurprisingly, Barry Keoghan was the clear standpoint, constantly bordering the line of unsettlingly charismatic and offputting. Which, for a movie like this, is basically perfect. A certain part of me watching this kept going, are these kids complete idiots? Some of the things they decide to do and how they go about doing them are just mind-bendingly stupid, but the way these characters act create a definite believability in some regard. But undoubtedly, American Animals is one of the strangest and most interesting films of 2018.

7.6/10

Without knowing anything about the film beyond some structural elements I came into the film and was surprised by how quickly I was engaged by it. The mix of documentary footage and reenactment is not new or special, but it is effective in the early stages of this film of allowing the viewer to catch-up with the people quickly, while part of the reenactment builds tension well early on. As the film goes on, the documentary side steps into the background, but the reenactment side is more than up to the task. It links well to the real footage, adding weight, and the performances are convincing as young men in this situation.

The tension surprised me - particularly as I knew this was part documentary, so I had not expected it to be as good a drama as it was. It perhaps is a bit functional and event driven, but this works well, and the conclusion suggests that motivations and feelings were not readily available. It is slickly filmed with good use of music, and a control of tone that draws in cool sequences with real life panic and fumbling. It doesn't quite satisfy in terms of the ending, with its lack of full answers and exploration, but it is engaging, well-made, and enjoyable in several different ways.

Such a good film. I felt shattered at the end, as if I had been through some terrible trauma, but exciting all the same, of course. First big surprise here is that this largely American film is directed by an English documentary filmmaker. Second is that the poster and title are just a wee bit misleading. Depicting a real incident in Kentucky we accompany four students on a mission to steal some rare books. Involving an excellent Evan Peters as leader of the group and also featuring the actual four from the original incident freshly released from jail. I have never seen anything like this as we slip from acted to real and back mixing and matching dialogue with the one character talking to himself at one point. Very involving throughout and very imaginatively shot, this leads to the most incredible heist. I'm not sure my heart has ever beat as fast and the mixture of fear, excitement, relief and horror was quite incredible. Most of this is down to the fact that the filmmaking technique used tends to draw you in personally and breaks down the so called fourth wall and as in a dream (or nightmare!) a large part of you is actually mentally engaged in the action. Inside as opposed to outside. Very rare and illuminating experience when the urge of four kids to do something different and make something of themselves tips over into something unstoppable.