American Honey (2016)
Starring Sasha Lane, Shia LaBeouf, and Riley Keough
Directed by Andrea Arnold
***This film is currently streaming via Amazon Prime***
There is nothing about American Honey that even remotely validates its epic nearly three-hour runtime. Its plot can be explained in a simple sentence: Impoverished teenager Star (Sasha Lane) joins a ragtag group of kids headed by the harsh twentysomething "den mother" Krystal (Riley Keough) who travel across the country hoping to earn money by selling magazines whilst doing drugs, drinking alcohol, stealing trinkets, and sleeping with one another. Conflict is slim to none throughout the film and there are tons of lengthy shots of these disheveled, dirty-looking teens singing rap songs for no apparent reason other than to show the mundaneness of everyday life for this group. Yet, despite this myriad of issues, I found myself oddly captivated by American Honey. Sure, it's a film I never want to watch again and I can't even say I'd want to subject anyone else to attempt a viewing, but the simplicity and naturalness of writer-director Andrea Arnold's film kept my intrigued more than I could ever have imagined.
I mean this in a complimentary fashion, but there's a dirtiness that permeates throughout American Honey. This group of kids on display exudes a griminess and a grossness that's anchored in realism and while at least these teens are trying to make a living, they are kids with whom I'd never want to hang. First-time actress Sasha Lane is at the center of this gang of miscreants and she certainly embodies the lower-class aesthetic that runs rampant through the flick. Her blossoming relationship with Shia LaBeouf's Jake, a member of magazine-selling group, feels lived-in and naturally develops over the course of the film's runtime.
I really do find it incomprehensible that I sat through this entire film. There was a moment about seventy minutes in -- which is just a third of the way, mind you -- that I was extremely tempted to stop because, as I mentioned, nothing really happens in this film. Yet, thanks to the solid performances and the lived-in aesthetic created by Andrea Arnold and her cast, the lack of plot becomes a shockingly insignificant issue. Now, don't mistake this positivity for all-out affection. American Honey really could've afforded to have been shortened or, at the very least, had some story added to it. And, as I've mentioned before, I never need to watch American Honey again nor can I in good conscience recommend it. However, something surprisingly worked for me and I found this flick to be much better than I expected.
I mean this in a complimentary fashion, but there's a dirtiness that permeates throughout American Honey. This group of kids on display exudes a griminess and a grossness that's anchored in realism and while at least these teens are trying to make a living, they are kids with whom I'd never want to hang. First-time actress Sasha Lane is at the center of this gang of miscreants and she certainly embodies the lower-class aesthetic that runs rampant through the flick. Her blossoming relationship with Shia LaBeouf's Jake, a member of magazine-selling group, feels lived-in and naturally develops over the course of the film's runtime.
I really do find it incomprehensible that I sat through this entire film. There was a moment about seventy minutes in -- which is just a third of the way, mind you -- that I was extremely tempted to stop because, as I mentioned, nothing really happens in this film. Yet, thanks to the solid performances and the lived-in aesthetic created by Andrea Arnold and her cast, the lack of plot becomes a shockingly insignificant issue. Now, don't mistake this positivity for all-out affection. American Honey really could've afforded to have been shortened or, at the very least, had some story added to it. And, as I've mentioned before, I never need to watch American Honey again nor can I in good conscience recommend it. However, something surprisingly worked for me and I found this flick to be much better than I expected.
The RyMickey Rating: B-
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