Wednesday, October 3, 2018

American Animals


American Animals

Following the tradition started by films like American Splendor and 24 Hour Party People is the newest entry into the category of "subversive biopics": American Animals.

Based on a real-life heist by four college students in the early 2000's, the film blends dramatization and interviews together to the point of occasionally having the actors actually interact with the real people they're playing. While this isn't really anything new, it's immensely entertaining to see the similarities and differences between the actors and the people, especially when the real people are every bit as interesting as their dramatized counterparts.

The story itself is the star of the movie, and writer/director Bart Layton (also responsible for The Imposter, which I haven't seen) does an excellent job of retelling it. While for the most part it's shot in a fairly standard way, there are a few moments of truly great filmmaking, such as their ideal fantasy of how the heist will go. The actors all do a fantastic job, and the script is great at always feeling believable as opposed to being forcefully clever. It's all about this real story.

If you like The Social Network, Ocean's Eleven, or American Splendor then this is definitely a movie to check out. If you like all three you should've seen it already.

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