Bart Layton directs Barry Keoghan, Evan Peters and Blake Jenner in this true crime story of bored students who plan a rare book heist worth $12 million.

Visually experimental and dropping in not just talking heads but the ghostly presences of the real life thieves into narrative scenes, Bart Layton makes American Animals stand out. It is an aggressive and memorable piece of filmmaking. I have to admit I enjoyed it more during camaraderie of the planning stages rather than during the nauseous fallout of the crime. It is hard to feel sorry for people so morally bankrupt, even their “guilt” feels like a calculated survival technique rather than a genuine emotion. The movie hints at bigger themes. A youth abandoned to replicating other generations’ past glories. They’d rather homage a fake life of crime movies and lost adrenaline now the world has been tamed and their place in society is mudanely set. American Animals didn’t entirely seduce me but I’m keen to rewatch.

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