At cinemas nationwide
American Honey, the latest film from acclaimed British director Andrea Arnold (Fish Tank, Wuthering Heights) follows Star (Sasha Lane), a troubled teenager who escapes an abusive relationship to join a travelling group of unconventional magazine subscription sales people led by the charismatic Jake (Shia LaBeouf) and his girlfriend Krystal (Riley Keough). As the crew travel across the American Midwest, Sasha becomes closer to Jake whilst also trying to earn money for her self – by any means necessary.
Arnold manages once again to apply her stripped-down, naturalistic style of directing to the most American of genres, the road movie. This is partly achieved by her signature use of handheld camerawork from regular collaborator Robbie Ryan, who uses the traditional 1.33:1 aspect ratio to create a home-movie-like feel to the scenes in the sales crew’s van. This has the effect of making the audience a fellow participant in the group’s banter and songs whilst on the road.
Arnold is also able to elicit excellent performances from all of the cast, the majority of whom have little or no acting experience. In particular, Lane’s performance as Star is remarkable, with the first-time actress proving utterly convincing at portraying both the seemingly-streetwise arrogance of the character in early scenes as well as her almost childlike exuberance and naivety regarding her relationship with Jake. This last aspect is best illustrated by the first and last intimate scenes between Star and Jake, where Lane’s initial immaturity results in differing reactions from LaBeouf – one positive and the other deeply negative.
LaBeouf himself also provides a winning performance as Jake, particularly in his depiction of the character’s transformation in Star’s eyes from silver-tongued salesman to semi-abusive opportunist who appears to be looking out for himself. Anyone familiar with LaBeouf from his mediocre Hollywood films (Transformers, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) will be pleasantly surprised with the emotional range he displays in the role as well as his obvious chemistry with Lane, particularly in their sex scenes. Keough also impresses, making Krystal into a ruthless boss who isn’t afraid of letting Star know that she is in control, both of her and of Jake.
American Honey is another success for Arnold, acting as her effective debut into American cinema. Don’t miss this long, winding and well-acted journey of a young girl’s experiences on the road that also serves as a portrait of poverty in modern-day America.