[rating=8.00]
There’s this wonderful overlap between adolescence and adulthood. You’re carefree, old enough to make your own mistakes, and young enough to not quite grasp the consequences. As adults living in those consequences of our youth, there’s almost this reticence to relive those moments, the ones that made your skin tingle and heart race. The ones that left you feeling empty and cold, and the ones that lifted you up so high you were certain there was nothing else in this world that would ever be better. So on the hinged cringe of “do I want to do this again?” enters American Honey, a coming of age story sitting squarely in that grey area we all had to go through in order to make it to this point in time.
Starring effervescent newcomer Sasha Lane, the film chronicles 18-year-old Star as she makes the choice to try and escape the hell that is her life. After her mother dies from a meth overdose, Star is sent to live with her sexually abusive father. Saddled with her younger siblings from a different failed relationship, Star does her best to fend for the family as her father drinks himself to death in between the few times he makes it to work. We see her and the kids digging through a trashcan for food and attempting to hitch a ride back home when she gets a peek at ultimate fuck-boy Jake (Shia LaBeouf), kicking off a whirlwind adventure traveling cross country with a group of teens who were in the same position as her.
Part of the beauty in Lane’s performance is her portrayal of the weathered Star living in absolute ignorance of the world. While she’s definitely been through the wringer, Star has lived in that overlap for so long she wasn’t able to enjoy a childhood. It is in Jake that she sees her future; so begins an ecstatic infatuation that leads her down a path of dishonesty and genuine pain as she experiences the intoxicating allure of that one person who is so bad for you that your senses explode every time you finally get that one fleeting moment of ecstasy with them.
LaBeouf’s Jake is infuriating. Partly because he’s reminded us of a talent that has been evading the public for some time, but mostly because his portrayal of the character is so spot on that when you’re not hating him for being a tool you’re either lusting after him or identifying with him. The genuine need to walk away from the fuck-boy lifestyle is constantly being whispered through his avid desire for Star, and yet his choices take an unwavering hold of him. The two are so consumed by their passion, you almost forget that neither has a handle on these extreme emotions overtaking them. It’s terrifying to watch, and yet as the film goes on and you whimper at the edge of your seat there’s still that thankful promise that this part of growing up will eventually end for them.
The supporting cast works perfectly to encapsulate the party lifestyle of grown-too-fast youth. The only rules in place are there to ensure the group makes money for their leader Crystal, a wonderfully stark hard ass to their partying ways. Only a few years older than those she commands, Crystal has taken a scam and turned it into a business, creating a bubble for those who didn’t belong. She’s their savior, and their downfall, and they all know it. Through the jealousy, the fights, the tears, and the pains of being young, Crystal is the rock that eventually drops the weak and restocks with impunity.
Overall there’s a majesty in the simplistic storyline that defies general tropes, creating a subgenre of young adult film that meets the art of what it is to be human while simultaneously stepping outside of itself for the audience to enjoy. Writer and director Andrea Arnold has hit the nail on the head, finding the pulse of American without ignoring the ugly underside of what it is to grow up. Take heed of your own youthful transgressions as you enter the film, understand those moments of humility and magic, and you won’t be disappointed.
American Honey is now playing in theaters everywhere.
