American Honey

Name: American Honey
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: September 30, 2016
Duration: 163 min
Rating: 80

2016

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 41 Critic Reviews

See All

USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 108 Ratings

See All

7.2

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

7.2	Your Score
7.2	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 108 Ratings

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Play Sound

Please enter your birth date to watch this video:

You are not allowed to view this material at this time.

American Honey

Now Playing: American Honey

Movie Details & Credits

A24 | Release Date: September 30, 2016 | R

Summary: Star (Sasha Lane), a teenage girl from a troubled home, runs away with a traveling sales crew who drive across the American Midwest selling magazine subscriptions door to door. Finding her feet in this gang of teenagers, one of whom is Jake (Shia LaBeouf), she soon gets into the group's lifestyle of hard-partying nights, law-bending days,Star (Sasha Lane), a teenage girl from a troubled home, runs away with a traveling sales crew who drive across the American Midwest selling magazine subscriptions door to door. Finding her feet in this gang of teenagers, one of whom is Jake (Shia LaBeouf), she soon gets into the group's lifestyle of hard-partying nights, law-bending days, and young love.… Expand

Director: Andrea Arnold

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy

Rating: R

Runtime: 163 min

See All Details and Credits

Watch Now

Buy On

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

100

Allen Salkin

Oct 6, 2020

The film slowly, slowly blossoms into an emotional wildflower by the end, leaving us with a scene that is kind of spontaneous road baptism, an unsure note of spiritual birth. Read full review

100

The Film Stage Rory O'Connor

May 20, 2016

It’s visually astonishing and often devastating, too. This might be the freshest film about young people in America since Larry Clark’s Kids. Read full review

IndieWire Eric Kohn

May 20, 2016

It's the closest thing to a magnum opus in Arnold's blossoming career. Read full review

Mike Scott

Oct 13, 2016

An easy-going gem that is at times funny, at times heartbreaking, at times scary -- but always, unfailingly engaging. Read full review

Tasha Robinson

Sep 14, 2016

One of Arnold's greatest accomplishments in American Honey is in illustrating, with a loose and comfortable storytelling style, how these misfits build a form of easy intimacy without really opening up to each other, or getting attached. Read full review

Ben Croll

May 22, 2016

There’s a great movie buried somewhere in American Honey — heck, there might be two of them. But at its current length, it resembles nothing so much as fine spirit overly diluted with water. The care and quality is all there, but in this iteration they ain’t coming through. Read full review

Josh Cabrita

Sep 28, 2016

The characters are despicable and insufferable, but worse yet, interchangeable and not particularly interesting. Read full review

SEE ALL 41 REVIEWS

Write a Review

User Reviews

Juttybomb

Oct 1, 2016

Andrea Arnold found truthful and beautiful characters in real people, and allowed us to share in an actual road trip of moments in their life. The aspect ratio of the film gives a personalized experience. The soundtrack inspired me to literally dance in the theatre throughout the movie.Andrea Arnold found truthful and beautiful characters in real people, and allowed us to share in an actual road trip of moments in their life. The aspect ratio of the film gives a personalized experience. The soundtrack inspired me to literally dance in the theatre throughout the movie. Sasha and Shia show some real chemistry, and when Mazzy Star drops while their in the car, it literally gave my entire body chills. This movie made me feel something while watching it, and the feeling has stayed with me for hours. To me the experience of watching this film is comparable to the moment when you are dancing, and you completely let yourself go, and allow yourself to get lost in the moment. It's a moment when nothing else matters. A car ride with the friends you love, while singing a song that resonates with everyone in the car. Go see this film, you won't be disappointed. Hats off to the director, cast and crew.… Expand

4 of 8 users found this helpful44

zech147

Aug 7, 2020

Wow! This movie is way more entertaining than you would expect from a low energy road film, but between the cinematography, acting, and plot it blew me away. The realness of the acting allowed me to vicariously join the cast on an epic road trip that was both over the top and completelyWow! This movie is way more entertaining than you would expect from a low energy road film, but between the cinematography, acting, and plot it blew me away. The realness of the acting allowed me to vicariously join the cast on an epic road trip that was both over the top and completely realistic! On top of that, a great soundtrack pulls you in and leaves you hoping it will never end. When it does draw to a close you will have bonded with the characters and may find yourself wishing them well, until you remember it was only a film. I don't know why this movie wasn't more widely acclaimed, but I do recommend it to anyone who will listen.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Mahmus

Sep 25, 2020

A masterfully made movie with great performances and great pacing, especially for such a long film.

Sasha Lane and Shia LaBeouf are amazing.

It got a bit repetitive after a while, but never to the point where I wasn't completely interested in what was happening.

This was really damn good

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Spangle

May 4, 2017

A hypnotic tone poem that explores the lost children of capitalism, seeking to make ends meet by any means necessary, American Honey is a Southern-set film that soaks up the essence of Antebellum life as well as the brutal poverty and isolation that goes hand-in-hand with life for many inA hypnotic tone poem that explores the lost children of capitalism, seeking to make ends meet by any means necessary, American Honey is a Southern-set film that soaks up the essence of Antebellum life as well as the brutal poverty and isolation that goes hand-in-hand with life for many in the South and America. Telling the story of a group of lost souls that party, drink, smoke, and **** as they try and sell magazines throughout the midwest, American Honey brings kids together from all over the South and shows the division that exists in America between the rich and the poor. Wrapping you around its finger via its excellent soundtrack, unique camera work, and its essence as a film, American Honey is a harsh and truly exhausting film to watch for nearly three hours, but is an excellent slice of Americana and the underbelly of the nation from Brit Andrea Arnold.

The real highlight of this film is undoubtedly its music. Pulling from a wide range of inspirations from country to Bruce Springsteen to metal and especially to hip-hop, American Honey is a celebration of every corner of America. Though most of the characters hail from the south or midwest - Texas, South Dakota, Maryland, Florida, etc. - there are some from other states such as New Jersey and California. With its characters and music genres pulling from across the continental United States and reflecting popular music from various races and income levels, the film may largely focus on poverty and whites, but strives to encapsulate the American experience and influence that has on everyone who lives in the country. With gorgeous shots of the sun setting on the horizon or lens flares where the sun seems to blot out the whole image, Arnold captures the beauty of America wherever she goes. Beautifully maintained upper class homes, rugged oil fields, and open desert, are all given their due and show just how diverse the country in appearance, but one thing remains constant: how beautiful the land is no matter where you go. Through her camera finding this beauty and the diverse soundtrack, Arnold always sets the mood just right to be able to soak in this beauty and celebrate the nation's diversity wherever the group of kids travels.

In exploring this diversity though, the film really explores the divide between poor and rich that exists in America and also shows where they are the same. From pampered villages in rich sections of Kansas City to the poor backwoods of Rapid City, the film never shies away from showing the divide. For the former, the worst thing that happens is a daughter and her friends dancing provocatively to rap music in the backyard. For the latter, the mother is too drugged to even notice what her kids are doing. This divide between poor and rich is also shown by the traveling band of magazine sellers who freak out at the big buildings in Kansas City. For them, they have never seen anything like this with little-to-no big cities in the towns where they live. Yet, what is always common is how everybody is out for themselves and pitying those beneath them. People with Christian bumper stickers blow them off, oil workers pay for sex from the girls, and rich Texans try to exploit innocent girls by getting them liquored up. Nobody has their hands clean and that is, unfortunately, what really brings everybody together: selfishness. This selfishness is often derived out of pity where some people either respond to the feeling by offering a helping hand and buying the magazines. Or, they seek to just exploit the people and take advantage of their position as "superior". Yet, it is in the former that the film really finds its kind central heart. With characters such as lead Star (Sasha Lane), buying food for an impoverished family or taking care of kids that are not her's, the film shows what is possible when somebody feels not just pity, but empathy and offers a helping hand to those who are worse off than themselves.

Using unique camera work to capture everything, Arnold's occasionally hand-held camera in the van is really the highlight of this film. With music playing loudly in the back and constant extreme close-ups jumping from character-to-character, the film often feels like a home video. Casual, unfocused, and meandering, in this tone, American Honey seems to just be capturing events partaken in by real people at an actual point in time in American history. It is this unstructured approach that really makes the film feel its length and be mentally exhausting with very few plot threads that exist in this film to really weave it all together. The only thing left is the thematic considerations and beautiful camera work and, as a result, the film is one that really relies upon its tone to capture the imagination of the audience and provide the audience with the mental stimulation they require. In this endeavor, its hypnotic approach to filmmaking is mostly successful.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

jrodfilms

Oct 19, 2016

It doesn't quite rank up there with Kids or Dazed and Confused, but it shares a similar tone between those two. Although sometimes it sucks because the characters are so dumb and the plot somewhat unbelievable, but just enough to keep the story going from place to place. I thought theIt doesn't quite rank up there with Kids or Dazed and Confused, but it shares a similar tone between those two. Although sometimes it sucks because the characters are so dumb and the plot somewhat unbelievable, but just enough to keep the story going from place to place. I thought the movie went fast for being 2.5 hours long.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

metacritic1000

Oct 27, 2016

The beginning introduces us to Star's (Sasha Lane) dysfunctional family, and is intense and impactful. Once Star joins the tribe of teens, you think tragedy is going to happen at every turn as she makes risky choices. Unfortunately, the only tragedy is that this movie is way too long.

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

Scraper

Dec 1, 2017

Brutally dull render of an American adventure flick that seems to think that the stoned, teenage, mall crowd is holding a profound secret. Like The Beach before it, they seek the simple pleasures in life: sex, freedom, and insobriety. Each character is some jackass you've seen before,Brutally dull render of an American adventure flick that seems to think that the stoned, teenage, mall crowd is holding a profound secret. Like The Beach before it, they seek the simple pleasures in life: sex, freedom, and insobriety. Each character is some jackass you've seen before, hanging out, smoking a blunt, saying something stupid, except for Shia Labeouf. He's a special kind of grime. Someone meant to be seen as an attractive free-spirit who instead comes off as filthy, smarmy, and disingenuous. A nauseating combination. In real life I imagine Shia sees this character as his actual kindred spirit, his ora. He isn't grown up enough, or perhaps is too insulated by his own fame and inexperience, to tell that stoned, drunken, extroverted, know-it-alls are one of society's most repellant products.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

SEE ALL 21 REVIEWS