As the film begins, a title card flashes on the screen that says, “This is Not Based on a True Story” with the words “Based on” fading away into “This is a True Story.” Right off the bat, you realize that the new heist drama ‘American Animals’ is going to be a unique twist on the crime genre. Writer-director Bart Layton blurs the lines between documentary and fiction. He uses a technique where the real criminals break the fourth wall and tell their side of the story while actors play them on screen. It makes ‘American Animals’ into a compelling docudrama. It’s one of the craziest heists ever perpetrated in U.S. history and must be seen to be believed.
In 2004, childhood friends Warren Lipka (Evan Peters) and Spencer Reinhard (Barry Keoghan) devise an audacious plan to steal priceless books from Transylvania University’s library in Kentucky. They were your typical suburban college kids that believed they were masterminding the ultimate heist. In reality, they were bored self-entitled youth that got in way over their heads. It’s suspenseful to watch since it shows how bad decisions can lead to terrible consequences. It’s interesting how these ordinary college students with their whole lives ahead of them decide to commit a crime that will affect the rest of their lives. As they hatch their plan, they realize they need additional help with a look-out and a getaway car. The two individuals they recruit are Chas Allen (Blake Jenner) and Eric Borsuk (Jared Abrahamson).
It’s no secret that the heist was a complete failure. All four were caught and spent over seven years in federal prison. To do research on how to carry out a heist, they watch movies like ‘Reservoir Dogs’ and ‘Ocean’s Eleven.’ The ring leader Warren even gives the guys Reservoir Dogs nicknames. Chas is not happy about being dubbed Mr. Pink. When they work out the logistics of the heist, it appears to look like a piece of cake. There is only one obstacle standing in their way of the rare books kept in the special collections room of the library. Librarian Betty Gooch (Ann Dowd) watches over the books like a hawk. The collection includes original editions of John James Audubon’s Birds of America and Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. They believe the books to be worth millions. It’s just a matter of finding a “fence” and figuring out what a fence means!
As the four dig themselves deeper in this outlandish caper, you will ask how on earth they were stupid enough to go along with it. When the real-life criminals briefly appear on screen, you get the sense that they caved into peer pressure and the chance to be a part of something big. As the heist begins to take shape, the four young men get lured into a path to corruption. There are several moments when you think they will wake up and realize that the scheme is a bad idea but they never do. That’s the cringeworthy aspect of the farce. When they finally come around to execute the plan that looked so good on paper, everything that can go wrong does go wrong. The most disturbing part is when Warren deals with the librarian. It’s at this point that it is not a prank anymore. When the real librarian Betty Gooch appears on screen, it brilliantly shows the irresponsibility the young men carried out on that fateful day.
The four actors do a notable job as the thieves. ‘American Animals’ is not a slick, big-budget heist film like ‘Ocean’s Eleven.’ That’s okay since it examines white male privilege running amok. The real payoff is watching Layton’s filmmaking choices. He has transformed a conventional narrative into a documentary hybrid. It gives the heist film a cutting edge. If you want to take a break from the big-budget movies hitting theaters this time of year, ‘American Animals’ is an entertaining detour.
