Review of American Animals (2018) by Kenric A — 01 Sep 2018

I had a best friend that got a kernel of an idea to rob a small bookstore when he was about 21. He was middle-class, educated, intelligent... but there was something in him, just like the guys in this film, that told him he had to do it.

He went on to rob multiple bookstores and finally banks before he got caught. Watching this film I could see in these characters what my friend might have gone through when he deluded himself into justifying what he was doing and the risk he was taking.

He told me once that he saw it as a simple, non-personal transaction: "I present a note asking for their money. I flash the but butt of a fake gun and they hand over the cash". Simple. I liked the inter-cutting of the interviews with the actual guys involved in the robbery.

I'd give it 8 out of 10...