August 26, 2018 2 min to read

American Animals

Bart Layton invites you into a carefully stylized Kentucky heist fantasy only to shatter it, in an anxiety-inducing crescendo.

by Zach Saul

In a lot of ways, Spencer Reinhard, Warren Lipka, Eric Borsuk, and Chas Allen II are the ultimate anti-criminals. Inspired by slick crime movies and an angsty yearning for a “legacy,” the real life American Animals criminals had all the bark but none of the bite they needed to get away with the heist. During the first half of the movie when the boys are planning out the heist, you really believe they can pull it off. Warren (Evan Peters) travels to Amsterdam to meet with a black market buyer, and Spencer (Barry Keoghan) even builds a model of the library and special collections room. The tone is lighthearted, and rebellious in the first act and you think to yourself ‘these are just angsty teenagers being teenagers’. Director Bart Layton plays with perspective a lot throughout the movie, and by using real-life interviews with Spencer, Warren, Eric and Chas to punctuate the action he makes it clear that fantasy, (and even heresay) is what’s driving their initial enthusiasm.

The second act, when the heist starts is what really differentiates American Animals from other heist movies—and the tone shifts dramatically into realism. Warren becomes unhinged almost immediately when the reality sets in that he has to use a hastily-purchased stun-pen to subdue Betty Jean (Ann Dowd), and she exclaims “you’re hurting me” writhing in pain. Inside the special collections room Eric’s (Jared Abrahamson) reality hits quickly as well; that touching Betty Jean will implicate him and leave an evidence trail. The actual heist in American Animals is a sweaty, anxiety filled panic attack that doesn’t resemble the plan they put in place to swipe the rare books. In a somber interview, the real life Warren Lipka admits that they all told themselves they weren’t going to hurt anyone, and once that reality set in “everything changed”.

The Good: American Animals has a really unique style and the tone shifts works extremely well. Even though the final act is a 45 minute long panic attack, there’s a sincerity to watching these teenagers attempt to beat the odds all the while knowing with near certainty they are destined to fail. In telling the story of four idealistic and angsty criminals, Bart Layton does a terrific job meticulously building a crime fantasy—even drawing from genre tropes, only to smash that illusion once the heist begins. American Animals in its strongest moments is equal parts a cautionary tale about watching too many crime movies, and a condemnation of an adolescence spent in Lexington, surrounded by old money and traditions. Peters, Keoghan, Jenner and Abrahamson all give great performances as the real American Animals criminals, and Ann Dowd is excellent as Betty Jean.

The Bad: Stylistically it’s a very cool movie, but it occasionally feels too pleased with itself. The way it plays with perspective is a thoughtful narrative device, but dilutes our understanding of the four characters at times. We get glimpses for example, of Spencer being hazed by a large fraternity, and Warren being pressured into sports by the school and his father. Chas and Eric’s motivations for joining the plot are explored in much less detail then Warren and Spencer’s which seems like a missed opportunity.