American Animals (2018)

Review

116min

Genre:       Fact-based, Crime, Drama

Director:    Bart Layton

Cast:         Evan Peters, Barry Keoghan, Jared Abrahamson…and more

Writer:      Bart Layton

-Synopsis-

Bored with life and on the road to nowhere, four Kentucky college kids hatch a plan to make their mark on the world—an audacious and unlikely heist at a library which would become one of the most significant art theft cases FBI history—in this true story crime drama from documentarian Bart Layton.

After spending a decade producing and directing documentaries and TV dramas focused on crime, history, and a bleak future for mankind, British filmmaker Layton applies his experience and brings his penchant for defying convention to his feature directorial debut—a peculiar but reflective crime caper, based on a true story right from the horses’ mouths . . . and a classic ‘only in America’ tale.

Aside from a documentary element featuring the actual people involved, the larger dramatic portion stars Barry Keoghan as Spencer Reinhard, a humble Kentucky art student longing for purpose in life, who unwittingly and reluctantly finds it in the company of his scheming go-getter buddy Warren Lipka (Evan Peters), as they hatch a plan to swipe rare historical manuscripts and art pieces from a university library. But as obstacles mount, and they recruit fellow students Eric Borsuk (Jared Abrahamson) and Chas Allen (Blake Jenner) to help, their motivation and commitment to a life-changing crime will be tested to the limit.

‘American Animals’ is something of a documentary/drama hybrid, not exactly a ‘docu-drama’ where real people behave naturally in semi-staged or planned scenarios, but instead a straight-up dramatisation of real events featuring accomplished actors, intercut with interviews and testimonials from the real people they play—and occasionally blurring the line between the two . . . and even stepping over it.

There’s a clear cinematic blend here when it comes to style and execution, flirting with genre tropes without fully committing to them. There’s no doubt an outrageous and comedic ‘stranger than fiction’ element to the treatment of the narrative, putting it in the realm of recent true story crime tale adaptations like ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ and ‘War Dogs’—but ‘American Animals’ is never as outrageous or irreverent as those films, and just misses out on being classified as a comedy.

It’s also quite clearly a classic heist movie to some extent, featuring the associated planning and heist crew dynamics, but filtered through the prism of American college kids. Then there’s the build-up to the big score and the excruciating tension of the final job, which is added to by a toe-curling comedy of errors when things don’t go to plan. But there’s no ‘Ocean’s Eleven’-style slick tricks or clever twists here, and it’s never over-the-top, taking little artistic license and always deliberately limited by the truth of the events.

Indeed truth is a big part of what the film is about, proving something of a meditation on perception and the intricacies of memory, touching on how multiple people can recall the same experiences quite differently. And all these elements should paint a picture of a crime caper, and indeed an American college film, that’s not your average heist movie—proving more pensive and self-reflective than we expected, but not skimping on entertainment value.

The film is energised by a sumptuous soundtrack of classic folk and rock tunes, and is given life by the performances of its four stars, led by Evan Peters as the heist’s driving force and something of a fantasist hustler Warren Lipka, and the impressively versatile young Barry Keoghan as the story’s catalyst Spencer Reinhard—the reluctant and repentant heart of the piece.

Whilst it may not be the most engrossing crime caper, or the most intricate heist movie you’ll see, ‘American Animals’ effectively combines established genres and movie conventions with a daring new way to tell a classic ‘only in America’ and ‘stranger than fiction’ story, captivating the audience throughout without exactly becoming an instant modern classic. Perhaps the most daring, or indeed controversial thing about ‘American Animals’ though is the way it treats its subjects, showing them in an empathetic if not sympathetic light, and framing them as uncommitted, almost accidental criminals . . . almost.

By sheer virtue of having testimonials straight from the horse’s mouth, in frank and contrite fashion, and having them played charismatic young actors on form, the film clearly encourages empathy from the audience for what are otherwise largely upstanding young men, who made one terrible fateful decision which ruined many lives. But the film stops short of absolving them of responsibility, instead positioning their crimes as borne out of selfishness rather than malice or callousness—thereby creating a unique cinematic study on the compulsion by some to stand out from the norm and be ‘special’ . . . often at the expense of those around them.

The Bottom Line…

A genre-bending true crime tale and classic yet innovative ‘only in America’ story, ‘American Animals’ is committed to the truth (and the very notion of it) yet vibrant enough to make for a captivating heist movie, but shines brightest as an unlikely tale of ordinary people creating extraordinary circumstances for an idea  of ‘glory’—making idiotic and selfish decisions which change lives.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

War Dogs (2016)

Outlandish comedy/drama from the director of ‘The Hangover’ and ‘Starsky & Hutch’; based on a true story of how young stoners from Miami became perhaps the most unlikely international arms dealers ever, managing to play US government systems and secure a $300 million contract to arm America’s allies in the Middle East using weaponry from questionable sources.

Directed by Todd Phillips and starring Miles Teller, Jonah Hill and Ana de Armas among others.

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