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American Animals

Play trailer 1:53 Poster for American Animals R Released Jun 1, 2018 1h 56m Crime Drama Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
88% Tomatometer 211 Reviews 82% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Spencer Reinhard, Warren Lipka, Eric Borsuk and Chas Allen are four friends who live an ordinary existence in Kentucky. After a visit to Transylvania University, Lipka comes up with the idea to steal the rarest and most valuable books from the school's library. As one of the most audacious art heists in U.S. history starts to unfold, the men question whether their attempts to inject excitement and purpose into their lives are simply misguided attempts at achieving the American dream.
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American Animals

American Animals

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Critics Consensus

American Animals tangles with a number of weighty themes, but never at the expense of delivering a queasily compelling true crime thriller.

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Critics Reviews

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Wenlei Ma News.com.au American Animals is a different kind of movie, a truly electrifying story with purpose and meaning but one that has also given us a new form of storytelling. Rated: 4.5/5 Oct 5, 2018 Full Review Paul Byrnes Sydney Morning Herald It's a clever movie, but not too clever. It's also thoughtful and engrossing, weird as hell. And it's true - or truer than most films that claim that label. Rated: 4/5 Oct 4, 2018 Full Review David Stratton The Australian American Animals, like the young thieves whose story it tells, seeks inspiration from classic movies, but it transcends this foundation in a probing look at the arrogance and inexperience of its protagonists... Rated: 4/5 Sep 28, 2018 Full Review JD Duran InSession Film American Animals is one of the most unique experiences of 2018 so far. Perhaps its editing and tonal shifts will be too cumbersome for some audiences, but for me, there’s a lot of profound layers to Layton’s direction. Rated: A Aug 7, 2024 Full Review Jason Adams My New Plaid Pants The harder the movie worked at reminding me of its "This is Based on a True Story" bonafides I kept watching it through Fargo-tinted "True Story" glasses Jul 2, 2021 Full Review David Bax Battleship Pretension What makes the movie good is that it is also a condemnation of same, illustrating just how quickly those worries burn off in the face of the alternative, a difficult life. Dec 10, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (319) audience reviews
Regina P I enjoyed this. The story was captivating. I did not enjoy how they mixed in the interviews with the real people from the story. It didn't need to be a dramatized documentary. That could have been saved for the credits or a separate documentary. But I was truly anticipating each next step. Fascinating true story. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/24/24 Full Review First name L I walked into the wrong auditorium and saw this by accident. I was ambushed and ultimately blown away by this story, and the cast. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/01/24 Full Review Amy one of the best heist films i have ever seen Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/04/23 Full Review sibi g Amazing movie ..because of the combination of interviews with the real people !!! Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 09/16/23 Full Review Gortee U Gud muvie, looks like payday for noobs playing for the first time Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 08/07/23 Full Review Gareth v One of the most underrated movies of 2018. While not big on action, it's loaded with tension and dark humour. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 06/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews
American Animals

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Cast & Crew

American Animals

American Animals: Official Clip - One Day You'll Be Dead! American Animals: Official Clip - One Day You'll Be Dead! 3:07 American Animals: Official Clip - Black Market Buyers American Animals: Official Clip - Black Market Buyers 2:38 American Animals: Official Clip - Old Crooks American Animals: Official Clip - Old Crooks 3:18 American Animals: Official Clip - Mr. Pink American Animals: Official Clip - Mr. Pink 2:58 American Animals: Official Clip - You've Killed Us American Animals: Official Clip - You've Killed Us 3:27 American Animals: Official Clip - The Plan Doesn't Work American Animals: Official Clip - The Plan Doesn't Work 2:54 View more videos
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Movie Info

Synopsis Spencer Reinhard, Warren Lipka, Eric Borsuk and Chas Allen are four friends who live an ordinary existence in Kentucky. After a visit to Transylvania University, Lipka comes up with the idea to steal the rarest and most valuable books from the school's library. As one of the most audacious art heists in U.S. history starts to unfold, the men question whether their attempts to inject excitement and purpose into their lives are simply misguided attempts at achieving the American dream.
Director
Bart Layton
Producer
Derrin Schlesinger, Katherine Butler, Dimitri Doganis, Mary Jane Skalski
Screenwriter
Bart Layton
Distributor
The Orchard
Production Co
Raw, Lava Bear Films
Rating
R (Language Throughout|Brief Crude/Sexual Material|Some Drug Use)
Genre
Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 1, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 14, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA)
$2.9M
Runtime
1h 56m
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