American Honey

One of the most endearing things you hear from actors is the list of crummy jobs they took to make ends meat before breaking into the industry. Channing Tatum turned his stripping days into a movie franchise, Harrison Ford is the most famous failed carpenter in Hollywood, and Chris Pratt sold stuff door to door out of his van. Granted this perspective kind of ignores the fact that some people actually do sell things door to door, like the lead characters in today's 52 Films by Women selection, American Honey.

The movie centers around Star, a poor teen straddled with care for her two siblings and a terrible home life. Eager to escape, Star latches on to Jake, a charismatic member of a door to door magazine selling group. Soon, Star is traveling the country looking to make sales by any means necessary while maintaining a contentious relationship with Jake and her new boss Krystal.

The biggest mistake movies about people on the fringes tend to make is trying to shock the audience with how harrowing their day to day existence is. It's something that designed to make an average middle class movie goer go "Oh that exists? That's awful! Someone should do something." My go to example is Winter's Bone a well-acted mystery that likely got way more attention for portraying hard-living in the Ozarcks with hardened criminals all around than originality.

Which is why American Honey is oddly refreshing. Star's journey, though terrifying to imagine for most, is actually one of self-discovery and rebellion, rather than pure desperation. We see enough of her family life to know that there's likely nothing but dead ends ahead, which makes the arrival of free spirited Shia Labeouf and company genuinely appealing. They look like they're having fun, and Star wants to enjoy herself. The script, written by director Andrea Arnold, does an excellent job at putting us in Star's shoes and letting us empathize, even if we wouldn't make the same decisions she does.

From there the movie is all about Star trying to navigate the nature of the group's hussle, figuring out the sexual politics at pay, and forging a path of her own. It's admittedly a long road, but the mixture of group members, the unpredictability of Jake, and the interactions with potential customers is pretty interesting. Seeing people on the edge trying to use both guilt and their marks' sense of superiority against them for money is a great concept, as is the perpetual contrast between the magazine sellers lives and the people they visit. This conflict gives the movie an uneasy tension whenever Star encounters a new group of people that never truly lets up.

Acting wise this is primarily a cast of unknowns with the standout discovery being Sasha Lane as Star. Lane has a very different screen presence. She's reserved, but feisty, and excellent at being physically expressive, especially when her character is forced into awkward situations. The only actor you'll recognize is Shia LaBeouf, who practically writes his entire backstory just by showing up. As soon as he arrives you immediately get the impression that he's fast-talking hustler whose intentions probably aren't great, and that he's probably hiding a violent streak. It's a perfect fit for this role. I'll also give a should out to Riley Keough for her portrayal of the hard-edged boss Krystal.

If there is a noteworthy stumble, the film's two hour plus run time is a good place to start. Too often the movie seems to insist on Star learning lessons at a slower pace for realism's sake often at the expense of pacing. There's over a handful of scenes that reiterate things the audience has already figured out that could've easily been cut.

Excessive length aside, American Honey is a refreshingly honest take of youth. I recommend this one.