American Animals

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.

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 !!!

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.

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.