American Animals

Based on a true story, American Animals follows four friends (Barry Keoghan’s Spencer, Evan Peters’ Warren, Jared Abrahamson’s Eric, and Blake Jenner’s Chas) as they conspire to steal a series of rare books – with the fairly meticulous planning eventually paving the way for a heist that doesn’t quite go according to plan. Filmmaker Bart Layton punctuates American Animals with interviews with the story’s real-life figures, which, though initially somewhat distracting, ultimately does prove effective in filling in the backstory for the movie’s events and characters – although, admittedly, the writer/director occasionally does use this device to a somewhat shameless (and eye-rolling) degree (eg the color of a scarf changes depending on which individual is telling the story). It’s clear, then, that the picture benefits substantially from the inherently compelling plot and raft of strong performances, as Layton delivers a familiar yet perfectly watchable heist narrative that contains many of the elements one has come to anticipate from the genre (and a few that perhaps aren’t quite so expected). The almost two hour running time, however, ensures that American Animals suffers from a number of lulls throughout, and it’s clear, as well, that the movie’s climactic stretch isn’t quite as impactful as it probably could (and should) have been – which is a shame, certainly, given that the movie is, for the most part, an engaging feature/documentary hybrid that cements Layton’s place as a promising new cinematic voice.

*** out of ****