X
- 2018
- R
- HBO Max
- 1 h 56 m
- 2018
- R
- HBO Max
- 1 h 56 m
Summary Lexington, Kentucky, 2004: Spencer and Warren dream of remarkable lives beyond their middle-class suburban existence. They head off to colleges in the same town, haunted by the fear they may never be special in any way. Spencer is given a tour of his school’s incredibly valuable rare book collection and describes it all to Warren. Sudden...
Directed By: Bart Layton
Written By: Jon Croker, Peter Straughan, Claudia Zie, Ed Wethered, Joe Murtagh
- 2018
- R
- HBO Max
- 1 h 56 m
- 2018
- R
- HBO Max
- 1 h 56 m
American Animals
68
7.7
Where to Watch
Summary Lexington, Kentucky, 2004: Spencer and Warren dream of remarkable lives beyond their middle-class suburban existence. They head off to colleges in the same town, haunted by the fear they may never be special in any way. Spencer is given a tour of his school’s incredibly valuable rare book collection and describes it all to Warren. Sudden...
Directed By: Bart Layton
Written By: Jon Croker, Peter Straughan, Claudia Zie, Ed Wethered, Joe Murtagh
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally favorable
Based on 40 Critic Reviews
68
68% Positive
27 Reviews
27 Reviews
28% Mixed
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
5% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Metascore
Generally favorable
Based on 40 Critic Reviews
68
68% Positive
27 Reviews
27 Reviews
28% Mixed
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
5% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
I was utterly absorbed in this teeth-clenchingly exciting story and the “heist” sequence itself stands up really well – as well as anything I’ve seen.
Vivid is a good word at large, here. There’s a freshness and energy to American Animals.
User Score
Generally favorable
Based on 117 User Ratings
7.7
83% Positive
97 Ratings
97 Ratings
15% Mixed
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
3% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
User Score
Generally favorable
Based on 117 User Ratings
7.7
83% Positive
97 Ratings
97 Ratings
15% Mixed
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
3% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
I found this film quite terrific. Interviewing the actual characters throughout the story gave it a very real and unique feel, and I felt the film delivered everywhere it wanted to: it was funny, it was extremely tense, it was exciting, and it had some really interesting themes and ideas to leave you thinking when you left the theater. Given that I was expecting just another typical comedy-thriller heist movie, this one exceeded expectations. It was imperfect, but none of its flaws ever really took me out of the story. Very compelling.
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American Animals is as much an exercise in objective truth – or the lack thereof – as it is the retelling of a single series of events.
American Animals takes an appropriately wild approach to its subject, biting off a little more than it can chew, but nevertheless coming up with a truly novel entry in the overcrowded heist genre.
As he showed in "The Imposter," writer-director Bart Layton knows how to spin a compelling yarn.
All four actors are perfectly fine here, but the set-up is predictably conventional.
It’s a film that tosses questions at the viewer with no interest in answering them, one that can’t decide if it feels for its subjects or just wants to mock their incompetence.
an accurate capturization of humane behavior at its peak and pit..
American Animals
3 Out Of 5
American Animals is a character driven heist feature that is nothing like your usual heist for its cunning methodology is beyond the shallow ideology that it attempts to achieve. It might be safe but the stakes are higher than ever (unlike any other features, it does communicate and creates the anticipated impact) and it might be honest but is undeniably unstable. And the primary reason is its way of fumbling on landing on any sequence at a definite point which leads to and effects similarly in its final act. Having said that, there are few moments shot with such excellence that it leaves the audience in an awe of it where the awareness of Layton; the director is so sharp and precise, of its created bubble which doesn't pop but explodes like nine dynamites on your brain. Layton's metaphors barely works in fact if anything it gives away the intensity and credibility whenever its subtle nature starts to fade away. As mentioned earlier, the tale is more questionable for the audience, on terms of adapting a rigid structure for them to hold on to. The sound effects are sweat-drop effective with stunning camera work that accounts in the surrounding appropriately with a chunk of crispy visuals. Layton; the writer-director, has exceeded its script with brilliant execution skills that foliates with essential emotions on screen. Peters is as loud as he should be while Keoghan stands back and inhales in wisely and portrays with conviction.
The writing is gripping, if not smart and adaptive if not layered, as the makers might suggest. The catastrophic incidents, the chemistry among the characters and insanely hectic subjective procedure are the high points of the feature. American Animals is an accurate capturization of humane behavior at its peak and pit with no commercial threads manipulating or mutilating it.
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I'm a big fan of heist films. "American Animals" was an especially ambitious heist film that attempted to blur fiction/non-fiction lines and occasionally employ surrealistic elements. It was mostly well-acted, reasonably well-written, and directed with great care. Yet, somehow it came up a bit short for me. Ultimately, I don't believe the filmmaker was able to execute his ambitious vision for the film. Using the real-life characters to share in the narrative responsibilities was fantastic at times: it was often funny, clever, and informative. Maybe there were times when it felt too clever and too informative; maybe cutting back and forth undermined the continuity of the drama being constructed. I'm not sure. But it made me very much aware that I was watching a movie. I could never truly got lost in the story. On a different note, I agree with others that the pacing got awkward in the last third of the film. Tension would build up, resolve, and then fail to deliver. There were genuinely suspenseful moments that didn't lead anywhere. At times, the film seemed to have plateaued. There were at least two points when I believed the film was over. It was just tough to know what the director wanted the audience to experience. When the film finally did end, I was left wondering why. In all, it was a decent piece of filmmaking that wasn't especially powerful or fun for me. Maybe I just missed the whole damn point. But if I'm gonna trust the director to take me on a joy ride, I need him to deliver a little bit more joy along the way.
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Awards
British Independent Film Awards
• 2 Wins & 11 Nominations
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
Deauville Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
