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.

Just a sensational story ,, The script writing is brilliant ,, but the most noticeable was the Directing !!! Bart Layton did both and he did one amazing job.. bringing up the characters themselves telling their side of the story was a nice touch.

Casting Evan Peters and Barry Keoghan was a good move ,, they are both rising stars and they take the job seriously , and here they were engaging and so convincing.

Now my issue is ... the movie went on the big screen at the beginning of this year , toured all around the world festivals, and premiered 1st of June on movie theaters ,, yet .. no sound what so ever ,, the marketing is so bad for this movie ,, or it is hated for some reason ,,, or maybe the critics think this is in a way glorifying crime "which isn't"... I knew about this by accidentally looking for some cast members of "American Horror Stories" and clicked on Evan Peters's IMDB page to see what's new ,and this came up !!!

Came to this without knowing the story, but having seen The Imposter, it's impressive seeing this director's confident next step. I loved the combination of documentary style with heist movie, characters overlapping and switching in and out of styles and scenes. Evan's energy is frenetic and he seems to really enjoy the role and the supporting cast are great. It's sure to be a cult hit, with a great soundtrack and some very tense and awkward moments that make you cower and cringe at the mistakes and situations these guys got themselves into. It does begger belief its a true story, that these guys pushed themselves over that line, thus changing their lives forever. However, the fact that it is entertaining does not belie the seriousness and sadness that also comes through more by the use of the documentary elements and interviews with the guys and their families, and the librarian. Although it doesn't ever really answer why they all did it, or why they really thought it would be worth it, why they could justify one element in particular, money aside, with any conviction, or maybe that's because it doesn't relate 100% to its audience, though we can still watch with mouths open and it has certainly stayed with me and will definitely recommend a viewing.

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.

Glad I stuck with this. The unique filmmaking style of Bart Layton can take a little to get used to. If you enjoyed his documentary The Imposter, then you'll probably love this.

American Animals rides that documentary-drama combination to full effect. The ratio here is probably more drama to documentary, unlike the reverse of The Imposter - which this really echoed.

Has to have the best soundtrack of any film I've seen in ages. Can't believe this thing was a true story. The "where are they now" segment at the end was interesting. I feel like we all experience some of the emotions and feelings in life that these guys did - which lead to their heist.

If you're after a crime film that's quite different - then check this out.