American Animals is a movie that has an
admittedly cool hook—it tells a true story, but along with the dramatization,
director Bart Layton (The Imposter) splices in interviews
with the real people involved. But like many films with a cool hook, it’s too
in love with its own coolness, to the point of distraction. And while it tries
to do something different, it’s so hyper-stylized—I counted at least six
slow-motion montages set to conspicuously recognizable pop songs—that the
stylistics cease to have any substantial impact and it’s not nearly as edgy as
it wants to be or thinks it is.
Four college friends, generally bored and dissatisfied with
their existence and looking to live beyond the ordinary, set out to steal rare,
valuable books from the special collection at Transylvania University—which is
a real school! The story focuses most on the mousy, awkward Spencer (Barry Keoghan,
Dunkirk) and the brash, impetuous Warren (Evan Peters,
X-Men: Days of Future Past), but they also bring along Chas
(Blake Jenner, Everybody Wants Some) and Eric (Jared
Abrahamson, Seattle Superstorm).
Spencer and Warren have a familiar dynamic—Spencer is the
good kid; Warren is the friend Spencer’s parents aren’t thrilled their son is
friends with. Warren gets Spencer in trouble he wouldn’t get into on his own,
which is precisely why Spencer hangs out with him in the first place. He’s the
kind of kid who’s tired of his life but can’t affect change on his own, which
is where Warren comes in. That instigation is what jump starts the narrative.
Unlikely criminals all, these are kids sick of the tedium
and ennui of their low-drama, low-stakes upper middle class existences. They so
desperately want to something special and memorable, just being themselves isn’t
enough. So they come up with a crazy plan just because they can, Google how to
pull of a heist, and do research by watching heist movies. All the while, they
secretly hope and anticipate the one big roadblock they can’t navigate and that
will ultimately derail their plan so it falls into the category of things they
almost did. Like, “Remember that time we almost robbed a library? That was
crazy!” But much to their surprise, nothing they can’t deal with arises, and
like a game of chicken, no one wants to be the one to back out.
American Animals has strong points.
Keoghan and Peters have a good chemistry; it’s well acted, constructed, and
shot; the running commentary with the key players offers a unique insight into
the recreations. It touches on notions of the inherently hazy and flawed nature
of memory and recollection—does Spencer remember his own memories or does he
remember what Warren tells him he remembers? It never delves too deep, but
while it’s light and fluffy, its interesting and fun enough.
But ultimately the film spins its wheels. It takes too much
time to get anywhere and goes on way too long—I’m not kidding about the
multiple extended montages, it’s almost comical after a while. Ultimately,
American Animals eschews emotional connection and narrative
development for aesthetic concerns. While it toes the line between
fictionalization and documentary, it never truly works on either front—I can’t
help but wonder if it would have been better as one or the other—and it’s
tonally uneven, especially as it gradually ramps up to the climax.
One thing I can’t tell if is intentional or not, but it
feels like it must be, is that, for all the stylistic flourishes, once they get
to the actual heist, it’s filmed in fairly straightforward fashion. It’s like
these kids have a romanticized idea of what this heist will be, which butts up
against the stark reality of the robbery. They imagine this slick, surgical,
well-choreographed caper with a kick-ass soundtrack, but what they get is rough
and ugly and all too real. In their minds, this is going to be awesome, but
it’s not. The most interesting parts should be the psychological mind-fuckery,
drama, and strain that follows the heist, but that’s barely touched on in favor
of scene after scene of how these incompetent non-criminals planning their
ill-advised adventure.
Occasionally fun and engaging, with an inventive
storytelling mechanism and an only-in-reality tale, American
Animals is ultimately hollow and ends in a shrug.
[Grade: C]
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