Review of American Animals (2018) by Reed W — 01 Jul 2018
American Animals makes a bold choice by attempting to blend documentary and narrative film, and, for the most part, it works. At first, the documentary segments cause the movie to feel like a cable TV docu-series. But when the real-life subjects' memories and perspective start to contradict each other, the documentary segments become very compelling.
The direction is also impressive. If good directing is tone management, then I would say the direction from Bart Layton succeeds. The film deftly balances a stylish homage to Soderberg's Oceans 11 with a very brutal, realistic depiction of how this real-life heist went down, once again playing with the idea of reality and fiction blending together.
If I have one complaint, it's that the movie is almost too thorough in trying to accurately tell this true-crime story. Some sequences feel superfluous and don't really add to the ideas the movie addresses.
Regardless, I would definitely recommend American Animals to those who love heist movies because you can tell American Animals loves heist movies too.
This review of American Animals (2018) was written by Reed W on 01 Jul 2018.
American Animals has generally received positive reviews.
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