Bart Layton’s American Animals tells the true story of four college students: Spencer Reinhard, Warren Lipka, Eric Borsuk and Chas Allen who devise a plan to steal a number of very rare books from the Transylvania University library in an attempt to make something extraordinary of their otherwise ordinary lives.
The four men who committed this crime helped the director Bart Layton to understand their motivations, providing a true insight into why they did this and what went wrong. This leads to an incredible mixture of real-life interviews which blend beautifully into the narrative and helps create a true connection between the audience and the characters, making their downfall all the more painful to watch.
Layton perfectly balances the documentary and narrative cinema mediums to create a thrilling and engaging heist movie packed with beautiful cinematography and superb performances.
The film uses unique cinematography which helps solidify the theme of strangeness found in the characters, the heist and the aftermath. One of the biggest players in the engagement of the audience to the story was the brilliant use of sound. One scene in particular which stood out was when Spencer used salt and pepper shakers to create a heartbeat-like sound as he waited in suspense for the pickup car to arrive just before the heist.
The heist sequence was perfectly acted by Warren (Evan Peters), Eric (Jared Abrahamson) and Betty Jean Gooch (Ann Dowd). Evan Peters’ performance as Warren was the best in the film and appeared to stay very true to the real-life Warren Lipka, who made appearances throughout the film.
American Animals has earned a place amongst some of the greatest heist movies today through its innovative storytelling techniques, excellent performances and masterful execution. I for one am very excited to see what’s next in store for Bart Layton.
Michael (17)
American Animals
Melbourne International Film Festival
Revelation Perth Film Festival
Sydney Film Festival