20. American Honey

20. AMERICAN HONEY

Director: Andrea Arnold

Release date: November 3, 2016

It’s fascinating that the year’s most incisive movie about modern America was written and directed by a Brit.
Acclaimed filmmaker Andrea Arnold used a cast comprised almost entirely of non-actors, save for the impressive Shia LaBeouf and Riley Keough, and travelled across America to immerse herself in the world of “Magazine Crews” – groups of youths who sell magazine subscriptions door-to-door.
In a star-making performance, unknown actress Sasha Lane plays Star, the prism through which we experience this absorbing and stunningly realised journey into America’s heartland.
It’s a world of motel rooms, sex, drugs, music and the looming threat of danger is never far away.
Star and her band of young salespeople drive through America’s vast country’s sub-cultures, from the wealthy to the decaying fringes, providing an ultra-realistic depiction of youth against the system.
We are shown the American Dream – and it’s ugly. Arnold may be guilty of pulling some punches – there’s moments that perhaps could have truthfully ventured into darker territory – but American Honey is still one heck of a dizzying experience.
Her eye for the minutiae of every key scene adds to the film’s arresting pastiche.
At 163-minutes, this is a lengthy flick, but the movie pulls you into its mesmerising cyclic structure, ultimately presenting us with a moving depiction of a young woman deciding what type of person she wants to be.