Americana

AMERICANA is not a disaster. In fact, it's maybe 3/4ths of a very good movie. This neo-Western crime caper has a lot to say both about America's violent past and its fractious, identity politics poisoned present, but it should have taken the time to develop those ideas more fully.

Don't be fooled by Sydney Sweeney's top billing-she's probably the third or even fourth lead. She's fine enough, though her character is underwritten and stuck with a character trait that probably seemed better on the page than how it plays on screen. Halsey is fierce and along with Zahn Mcclarnon probably gives the movie's best performance.

AMERICANA looks and feels like an early Coen Brothers film or something Tarantino might have tried before Pulp Fiction, but it lacks the style, pace and wit that either of those filmmakers would bring to the material. But you could do worse movie-wise these days and if you go in open minded, you might just come away liking this one.

I have seen a few contemporary westerns recently being "Eddington", "Honey Don't" and now "Americana".

I felt the movie started well. The story and elements that came together were interesting and engaging. It felt very Coen-esc in the sense that it's a situation that goes wrong and escalates out of proportion.

The scenery, soundtrack and performances were impressive. However when Act 3 begun it was the moment where "Americana" lost steam.

The subtly and patience that was executed in the first 2 acts evaporated when the film transitioned into an overly dramatic thriller.

I would have preferred are more grounded finale that focused on the well crafted themes in the beginning on the film.

Americana (2025) is a crime thriller movie written and directed by Tony Tost in his directorial debut. This is a movie I chose to watch because of who was in the cast and I can say that the movie was pretty good.

Positives for Americana (2025): I like the story of having a set of eccentric characters going after an item that causes a lot of chaos in South Dakota. The ensemble cast is great and you have Sydney Sweeney, Paul Walter Hauser, Halsey, Simon Rex, Eric Dane and Zahn McClarnon. They play their characters very well and are crazy enough to get me invest in the story. I really enjoyed the relationship between the characters and how they interact with one another. I also like the way how the movie is told in these different chapters. And finally, the third act of this movie is really insane and entertaining.

Negatives for Americana (2025): It definitely feels like Tony Tost was trying to do his version of a Quentin Tarantino movie, but he isn't Tarantino and the movie feels like it has no identity. There are too many characters to follow and they are all kinds of weird with their personalities, despite being acted very well by the cast. I also don't understand why these people are after this one item and it was just really dumb. And finally, the third act feels like Tony Tost had all of these ideas in his head and he shoved them into this one movie and none of them are developed enough for me to care.

Overall, Americana (2025) was a good directorial debut for Tony Tost and I am looking forward to see what he does next.

For a heist movie, this seems to move real slow. Character development are important but film maker seem to not care about run time. If you like Halsey, she makes an appearance early for a short time then disappears until much later then you get a lot of. This film conceptually sound good but it is only (small) part heist. Not even half way through I've already lost interest. I stuck it out and luckily the kid and ghost face aka Henry scene kept me a little invested how the movie progresses. In my opinion the character Henry Alvin made this film tolerable. Halsey did good (I think this is her film debut) acting out her parts. The film is mostly drama and I realized this after much given thought. The end is perfect as it didn't fall into the trappings of a feel good film - the reincarnation nonsense was resoundingly rejected by the true adult in this film. The ending makes perfect sense also because Halsey's character finally realizes true wealth. What would make this film score higher than my six out of ten rating is if they had less of that excruciatingly slow scenes (yes, multiple) with hefty lefty cowboy and Sydney's character.

As far as liking a certain genre of film I from time to time like to watch a good western, and with this entry "Americana" it was a modern day raw and gritty journey as I as the viewer felt the cowboys vs. Indians and cops and Robbers style. Set in South Dakota it involves a criminal scheme and a young man(Paul Walter Hauser) looking for love. Add in outsiders and outcast it's as if no one seems to be who they are, things connect up between the central characters as all are involved someway or the other. Look for Zahn McClarnon("Dark Winds") in a supporting turn and Sydney Sweeney as wild card character waitress Penny Jo(who becomes a damsel in distress by being tied up and gagged). The film has plenty of twist and excitement as it's a fun journey thru the old west that movie lovers should enjoy.