American Animals (15.)
Directed by Bart Layton.
Starring Evan Peters, Barry Keoghan, Jared Abrahamson, Blake Jenner and Ann Dowd. 117 mins.
American Animals is the true story of two university students' audacious scheme to catapult themselves to a position near the top of the world of crime. In 2003, almost on a whim they started to speculate on how they could go about stealing some precious books – a copy of Darwins Origin Of Species, a collection of 19th century wildlife paintings that give the film its title – stored in a secure section of the Kentucky University library under the watchful eye of librarian (Dowd.)
American Animals is the audacious attempt by a British producer and director to catapult his way to a position near the summit of English language filmmakers. Layton has an extensive background in documentary and reality TV, and made the very fine documentary The Imposter. His first dramatic feature film sees him in a rush to make an impression; it turns the conventions of the Based-on-a-true-story and the crime movie inside out with the fictional incarnations sharing the screen with their real-life equivalents. Now grown up and some way wiser, they reflect on their motivation and the accuracy of both the film's reenactment of events and their own recall of it.
If nothing else the film comes closer than most to be the crime movie that doesn't glorify crime. The teenagers are motivated by a vague need for experiences and to test themselves. It was a spell they talked themselves into and couldn't break free of. The sense of being chastened by their experience is palpable from both the fictional and genuine versions. The cast is top notch. Irish actor Keoghan seems to have a face doomed to play beaten boxers but has a perfect mix of innocence and restless discontent. The stand out though is Peters as the scheme's instigator. At times his line delivery is reminiscent of Johnny Depp.
Isaac Newton popularised the phrase standing on the shoulder of giants, for the notion that all innovation and discovery is built on what passed before. Layton's film, despite its originality, seems to be trying to peep out from behind a stack of other films. Obviously, it's doing a Rashomon, but it's full of nods and references to other crime movies, and the busy soundtrack takes in snippets of famous scores. The characters are inspired by the movies they have seen, trapped by them and unable to find outside inspiration, and so is Layton's movie.
Directed by Bart Layton.
Starring Evan Peters, Barry Keoghan, Jared Abrahamson, Blake Jenner and Ann Dowd. 117 mins.
American Animals is the true story of two university students' audacious scheme to catapult themselves to a position near the top of the world of crime. In 2003, almost on a whim they started to speculate on how they could go about stealing some precious books – a copy of Darwins Origin Of Species, a collection of 19th century wildlife paintings that give the film its title – stored in a secure section of the Kentucky University library under the watchful eye of librarian (Dowd.)
American Animals is the audacious attempt by a British producer and director to catapult his way to a position near the summit of English language filmmakers. Layton has an extensive background in documentary and reality TV, and made the very fine documentary The Imposter. His first dramatic feature film sees him in a rush to make an impression; it turns the conventions of the Based-on-a-true-story and the crime movie inside out with the fictional incarnations sharing the screen with their real-life equivalents. Now grown up and some way wiser, they reflect on their motivation and the accuracy of both the film's reenactment of events and their own recall of it.
If nothing else the film comes closer than most to be the crime movie that doesn't glorify crime. The teenagers are motivated by a vague need for experiences and to test themselves. It was a spell they talked themselves into and couldn't break free of. The sense of being chastened by their experience is palpable from both the fictional and genuine versions. The cast is top notch. Irish actor Keoghan seems to have a face doomed to play beaten boxers but has a perfect mix of innocence and restless discontent. The stand out though is Peters as the scheme's instigator. At times his line delivery is reminiscent of Johnny Depp.
Isaac Newton popularised the phrase standing on the shoulder of giants, for the notion that all innovation and discovery is built on what passed before. Layton's film, despite its originality, seems to be trying to peep out from behind a stack of other films. Obviously, it's doing a Rashomon, but it's full of nods and references to other crime movies, and the busy soundtrack takes in snippets of famous scores. The characters are inspired by the movies they have seen, trapped by them and unable to find outside inspiration, and so is Layton's movie.
