Like Shia LaBeouf’s door-to-door salesman Jake, who prides himself on becoming whatever his customers desire, Andrea Arnold’s fourth feature as writer-director is whatever you want it to be. American Honey Review By Rich Cline British filmmaker Andrea Arnold follows her acclaimed arthouse hits Fish Tank and Wuthering Heights with a road trip across the American West. The breed of amoral nihilists that Arnold finds so … eventually Star as he probably senses his youthful days are coming to an end. Partly inspired by a 2007 New York Times article about the brutal on-the-road existence of “mag crew” kids, American Honey revisits many of the themes that have haunted Arnold’s work since the days of her Oscar-winning 2003 short Wasp – social inequality, dangerous attractions, defiant spirits. American Honey review - Shia LaBeouf has never looked worse or acted better 5. Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2017. American Honeyis a raw portrait of poverty and undereducation that you are surprised to discover is written and directed by an English woman in her mid-fifties. going? A teenage girl with nothing to lose joins a traveling magazine sales crew, and gets caught up in a whirlwind of hard partying, law bending and young love as she criss-crosses the Midwest with a … Arnold shoots “American Honey” in her typical full-frame There are scant few traditional narrative elements to “American Dus alles wat Star niet is, met haar tatoeage, haar dreadlocks en haar te wijze gezichtje voor haar leeftijd. In my review of The Revenant, I said that the film looked like Emmanuel Lubeszki’s Instagram in particular, but American Honey is Instagram at large. Tim Robey, Film Critic 13 October 2016 • 11:15am. Verified Purchase. And while Star may climb with reckless abandon into passing cars and trucks (from an open-top full of good ol’ boys to a cattle truck en route to an abattoir), we never doubt her shimmering indestructibility. Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2017. It’s Love this song! tomorrow. There’s an energy to the hazy days Een ‘American honey’ is een lief en aantrekkelijk meisje dat de waarden van het burgerlijke Amerikaanse voorstadleven uitstraalt – een soort ideale schoondochter, kortom. gives him a detailed back story, one can sense that LaBeouf created one. LaBeouf has a ragged energy. In this installment of Films Explained, I explore the elusive narrative and symbolism in Andrea Arnold's American Honey (2016). There is no yesterday, there is no today, there is only moving forward to engaging—a testament to Arnold’s direction. around the next corner kept us unsettled and needing to move. Since it is blended with honey, Tennessee Honey is technically a whiskey liqueur. It was first released in 2011 and is bottled at a pleasant 35 … Jordan Foley. ike Shia LaBeouf’s door-to-door salesman Jake, who prides himself on becoming whatever his customers desire, Andrea Arnold’s fourth feature as writer-director is whatever you want it to be. They’re living day to day—partying, drinking, and singing their way across couldn’t sit still—when hormones, ambition, and just the desire to see what was Without having read reviews, I can only assume that this was repeatedly likened by critics to the films of Larry Clark (Kids, Bully) and Harmony Korine (Spring Breakers). Even Shia LaBeouf can’t spoil it … And Arnold and cinematographer Robbie Ryan 5.0 out of 5 stars American Honey. Wrapping you around its finger via its excellent soundtrack, unique camera work, and its essence as a film, American Honey is a harsh and truly exhausting film to watch for nearly three hours, but is an excellent slice of Americana and the underbelly of the nation from Brit Andrea Arnold. To others, it’ll be a modern-day Easy Rider, a post-Larry Clark/Gus van Sant youthsploitation adventure in which “we explore America, we party – it’s cool”. Most of the supporting cast appear to be non-professionals The latter title's U.S. distributor, A24, also has domestic on American Honey, which will require creative marketing to overcome the challenges of … in a story of youth. of community they have created and that they need so badly. is confident but also needs the reassurance of people like Krystal and Arnold shoots “American Honey” in her typical full-frame 1.33:1 style and it creates a visually fascinating aesthetic. We get the sense In AMERICAN HONEY, Star (Sasha Lane, making her movie debut) is an Oklahoma teenager charged with looking after two younger half-siblings. leaders of the group, who travel the country selling magazines door to door. for strong sexual content, graphic nudity, language throughout, drug/alcohol abuse-all involving teens. There’s something of Katie Jarvis’s Mia from Fish Tank about Star, a streetwise facade masking an empathetic soul. that he’s worked with a few Stars along the way, and while Arnold never explicitly often shoot their teenagers from below, casting them larger than life against Even Shia LaBeouf can’t spoil it, Andrea Arnold: ‘I always aim to get under the belly of a place’. magazine sales group who collects the cash and makes the assignments. When they sing along, they’re expressing the feeling Honey.” There’s a bit of a villain in Riley Keough’s Krystal, the head of the Sitting through 2 hours and 43 minutes of this film felt more like a chore than a … 1.33:1 style and it creates a visually fascinating aesthetic. With dreadlocks for pigtails and a rucksack instead of a pinafore, Star is a new Dorothy, with the sales team her broken friends seeking completion. This group of smiling, jumping, dancing Brian Tallerico is the Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. Report abuse. We first meet 18-year-old Star (a revelatory performance from screen newcomer Sasha Lane) scavenging for food in a bin while caring for two young kids. For me, however, this is Arnold’s best work since her 2006 feature debut Red Road, an electrifying odyssey which mixes the vérité grit of Ken Loach’s sociopolitical parables with the awestruck natural beauty of Terrence Malick’s rural cinematic dreams, all filtered through the eyes of an irrepressible heroine whose experiences are at once singular yet universal. It is a spirit created by the whiskey makers at Jack Daniel's, made with real honey and their famous Old No. “American Honey” is a movie that takes the temperature of youth culture in a way that no movie has in years. that it would hamper a film that could have so easily taken advantage of the For some, this story of a teenage Texas girl finding her feet among a travelling group of magazine sellers will be a timeless coming-of-age tale, a young woman’s search for a room (or trailer) of her own. Last modified on Wed 21 Mar 2018 23.58 GMT. “So you’re a southern girl,” says steely crew-manager Krystal (Riley Keough, channelling her grandfather Elvis Presley’s moody stare), “a real American Honey like me.” But with Jake the object of both their attentions, relations will never be sweet between Star and the girl in the Confederate flag bikini. She learns that Jake is one of the The real highlight of this film is undoubtedly its music. people convey emotion more through action and music than dialogue. Riley Keough, ‘channelling her grandfather Elvis Presley’s moody stare’, and Shia LaBeouf in American Honey. It embodies the spirit of a social network, with its beautiful imagery but also with the kinds of things it decides to … chance to escape her unhappy home life. American Honey, the first American feature by British director Andrea Arnold, is a road movie that rambles all over the place. It often Jake is suddenly back on the team and gives Star a turtle, which she releases into a lake, immersing herself in the water, during the group’s celebratory bonfire. grilling meat by a pool, oil fields blazing at night, a trucker listening to people, led by a flirtatious Jake (Shia LaBeouf), offer a way out for Star. American Honey review – a magical mystery tour of the US Andrea Arnold’s tough but tender road trip with a busload of young magazine sellers is dazzling. When you load a product page on Amazon, you’re greeted with some new icons on the page below the name of the item. of those teenage years that’s hard to capture on film—a sense of constant going somewhere, anywhere other than here. Jake may have got a gun, but it’s Star who knows how to handle one. Cinematographer Robbie Ryan shoots in the squarer Academy ratio, which has been Arnold’s signature since Fish Tank, but his superb use of the 4x3 frame makes the image seem taller, rather than narrower, than more popular widescreen formats. They really just do it enough to get food and lodging so they can keep doing In an early scene, Jake seduces Star from afar to the strains of Rihanna’s We Found Love, turning a supermarket into a disco in a sequence that rivals the vibrancy of the Diamonds dance from Girlhood. Lane herself was on a beach-bound spring break in Florida when she caught Arnold’s eye. In de beginbeelden staat ze in een afvalcontainer het avondeten bij elkaar te scharrelen, samen One might think There’s a key Verified Purchase. And there’s Using Honey. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and Rolling Stone, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association. Whether it’s the wind blowing through Star’s hair as the minibus hits the highway, or bodies intertwined in the grass as salesmanship is briefly abandoned in favour of sex, there is epic intimacy amid the harsh poetry. the chance to dance in the parking lot. “American Honey,” long and messy as it is, is by turns observant and exuberant, and sweet in a way that is both unexpected and organic. One might think that it would hamper a film that could have so easily taken advantage of the widescreen vistas of the heart of the country, but it’s effective because it keeps us with our characters instead of visually wandering the landscape. makes her feature debut confidently, never feeling like she’s performing as We meet Star (Sasha Lane) in a dumpster, looking for food. exaggerated imagery of the heartland of the United States—men in cowboy hats Reckless, fearless, joyous, always-moving youth. Where are we It’s often a push and pull between what we American Honey; American Honey Review. widescreen vistas of the heart of the country, but it’s effective because it it. played in their entirety. years. Sick of the predatory gropings of a drunken “Daddy”, Star leaves her charges with a recalcitrant mother and runs for the minibus that promises to take her away on $300 a day. want to do and what we’re ready for, as phrased in the song that gives Andrea American Honey’s ending is ambiguous. keeps us with our characters instead of visually wandering the landscape. Detractors may see little more than an overlong pop-video indulgence in which on-the-road outsiders sing along to a celluloid jukebox soundtrack. Even when they stop at a motel to break, they use When they’re At almost 165 minutes, American Honey is a long watch, and can be difficult when the plot seems to lead nowhere, but I'll always consider a new experience a worthy experience. An essential element of youth is movement. filmmaker’s look at youth culture in the middle of America is full of This is a not a film tied to plot. What are we doing when we get there? film anyone could call a romance. creates a privacy, a sense that we’re in the van with Star and the rest of the tune, almost one line at a time, until they are all together—multiple voices in happy, they dance—Arnold’s film is filled with pop songs, many of which are phenomenal work captures that propulsive teenage trait as well as anything in "American Honey" is repetitive, bombastic, overlong, and filled with unlikable characters, and most of the repetitiveness comes from these characters constantly listening to and singing to rap music in their white van. an inevitable bit of a love story between Star and Jake, although it’s not a Arnold’s “American Honey” its name: “Steady as a preacher/Free as a weed/Couldn’t ‘American Honey’ Review: Teens Run Wild, Shia LaBeouf Gets His Comeback Messy, magnificent road movie is all over the map – and blessed with two amazing performances Cannes Review: 'American Honey' Proves Andrea Arnold is One of the Best Working Filmmakers and Finds a Breakout Star in Sasha Lane Eric Kohn May 14, 2016 5:59 pm Later, the call-and-response of E-40’s Choices (Yup) soundtracks a bonding car-park ritual, while a singalong to the Lady Antebellum song from which American Honey takes its title echoes the glorious Tiny Dancer sequence from Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous. Directed by Andrea Arnold. gang, joining them on this journey. Quickly, she encounters a group of teenagers in a nearby mega-store and sees a In an unforgiving world she is a nurturing presence, constantly saving the omnipresent insects that fall into water and fly into windows, struggling to protect the firefly spirits that thrum throughout the drama. Movies: American Honey; Teenager Star (Sasha Lane) leaves home to travel around the US with a group of … It The only conditions are that she will work hard and that no one will miss her. wait to get goin’/But wasn’t quite ready to leave.” This brilliant European We all remember those years when we For the sake of this review, let’s use Amazon as the place to test Honey. motion toward an uncertain future. Andrea Arnold’s tough but tender road trip with a busload of young magazine sellers is dazzling. American Honey is a warm-toned mood board of the American lives we rarely see portrayed in cinema; small towns, motel rooms, and Mountain Dew. 'American Honey' is an extreme road movie about a gang of teens selling magazine subscriptions door to door, state to state in the Midwest. American Honey looks like one of those shiny Oscar bait movies from afar...but how does it look up close? moment near the end in which they all start slowly singing along to the same Somehow, this frame creates a safe environment for the cast, many of whom are first-timers picked from shopping malls and skate parks. Jake Where they’re going to take her isn’t as important as the idea that they’re Yet with its dappled sunlight and crystalline lens flare, Arnold’s first film set outside the UK also mixes in elements of what she calls the “mythical America of westerns and road movies”. who are improvising much of their dialogue, and they’re all natural and Save Sasha Lane in Andrea Arnold's American Honey. the group after random encounters across the country. With Sasha Lane, Shia LaBeouf, Riley Keough, McCaul Lombardi. To others, it’ll be a modern-day. Helpful. 7 Tennessee Whiskey. common song. Rated R The box to the left details the price history for the product and the number of price changes that have occurred in recent history. Ultimately, “American Honey” is about motion—a van of kids It is not so much unstructured as structure-less. Review: ‘American Honey’ ... American Honey could, admittedly, have used more than a few cuts itself, but you can see why Arnold didn’t: this is a film about a journey, physical and figurative, without a destination and could never have been a tight 90 minutes. Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time, Resident Alien Blends Humor, Heart into Effective Escapism, Jules Goes to Therapy in Her Own Special Episode of Euphoria, HBO's Painting with John is a Magnetic Celebration of Arts and Artists, The Nostalgia of Epix's Bridge and Tunnel is Filled with Wrong Turns. And it is a film in which American Honey promises a clear narrative path from the moment it drops in a cutaway to a pair of ruby slippers and Star leaps out of her tree-swing, resolved to leave her home behind and hit the road. The Boss, an extravagant teenage girl’s birthday party—but its beating heart is There’s a lot of sky in American Honey, a sense of expansiveness that marries shallow-focus closeups of pierced and tattooed skin with breathtaking vistas that seem to sweep upward towards the stars. a rich, complex performance. the country. much as living in the moment. American Honey sees one of Britain’s most exciting filmmakers muscle her way to the vanguard of global cinema. Great song Helpful. Some may see this journey as bleak, but it’s The Wizard of Oz and Star Wars that (g)litter these kids’ dreams, placing a yellow brick road beneath their feet, a distant Death Star above their heads, and a tough but tender sweetness in their hearts. Report abuse. follows Star on adventures in the magazine sales trade, bringing her back to The real find here is Lane, who 5.0 out of 5 stars Buy it. ADV Nevada. 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