American Honey
Often, when I see a new film getting released I make myself
a promise to see it; however I sometimes never keep that promise. Most often,
it is the film’s narrative that attracts me the most, I simply watch the
trailer and I instantly feel the urge to watch the film. This time it was
different. I recall seeing the poster for American Honey on the last page of the
Empire magazine. The poster itself reflected something that I admire, the free
America that simply makes me ‘feel’. My love for America began a long time ago;
the American Dream is what we ought to live up to. My love for all things Americana,
stems from my love and admiration for the late James Dean and David Lynch. For
me personally, Lynch manages to capture Americana in a haunting, but yet,
beautiful nightmarish world. Perhaps, the representation of America is a
representation of my true self. The American blue sky, the flag, and of course,
‘American Honey’ waving her hands in the air while driving in a stolen
convertible, simply sells the film to me. I did not have to watch the trailer,
to know that the film is a must watch, but the trailer certainly convinced me
even more, and I simply needed to see the movie as soon as possible. Many
American films, attract their audience through a utopian representation of
itself, however even America itself, mocks the idealisation of their culture,
take American Beauty as an example, the white fences, luscious red roses and
the cereal box family... well it does not turn out to be so pretty in the end.
The trailer was an indicator, which showed me that this film focuses heavily on
authenticity, there is no idealisation involved, it is simply a raw tale of a
group of young people. Arguably, many would say, that after all, the film is
not so raw and authentic as we see famous faces such as Shia LaBeouf and Riley
Keough, but apart from those two, the whole cast is as authentic and somewhat
unprofessional as can be. The trailer of the film gave me a taste of what I
will be able to experience and feel watching this beautifully made film. The
music lulled me into the story, it may not be something we all like and listen
to, but is in fact something we all know, and something that fits the narrative
perfectly. Since I have watched the film, I have had Raury’s ‘God’s Whisper’ playing
on repeat, the song makes me feel a form of longing, sadness, but yet hope,
overall this is exactly how the film made me feel as a whole.
For me personally, American Honey is a bitter-sweet tale, a
road movie and a coming of age film. The main themes in the film, reflect real
life problems such as poverty, domestic abuse and neglect, drug abuse, the
reality of responsibility and becoming an adult, and of course, love. Is
America Honey a love story, yes to a certain extent, perhaps the narrative
explores love more realistically than any rom-com was ever able to. The film
offers the audience an insight into the lives of young people, people like you
and me, who are lost, who get by day by day, people who have dreams and an urge
to achieve the ‘American Dream’ after all. Not only does the film carry an important
message about society, it is in fact a well crafted piece of cinema. I was not
surprised to see that, majority of the film was filmed using hand held camera,
which adds to the authentic feel of the film. The use of cinematography is
certainly creative and captures the rawness of the actors performances. Despite
the visualisation of the characters, the lack of makeup and heavy focus on the
authentic representation of road life (little value placed on personal hygiene)
the colour palette is rather fresh, often films colours are enhanced post filming
as this alters the mood of the overall film, however, this is not the case in
American Honey, as the visual aspects such as the colour palette of the film, seems
to be left untouched for the films benefit.
The film certainly suited my tastes, however prior to
watching the film, I was somewhat put off by the film’s duration, I must admit
that because of my analytical nature, it is rather difficult for me to stay
focussed and interested for more than two hours. However, by no means what so
ever, did I find myself being bored
watching American Honey. The narrative of the film is unconventional to some
extent. A linear narrative, most often follows the structure of the beginning, inciting
incident, and the climax of the film most likely leads to a happy ending.
However, American Honey does not consist a major inciting incident that drives
the plot, the story simply unfolds day by day (just like the lives of the
characters); each day brings something new to the lives of the character and to
the overall narrative.
To no one’s surprise, I was captured by the film due to Shia
LaBeouf. I admire him as a performer. Shia beholds a great talent, he is a
confident and versatile actor.
Apart from The Transformers franchise (lets ALL forget that those films were
ever made) I have not been disappointed by a performance by Shia LaBeouf. Shia
is an outstanding actor, but I cannot forget to mention how handsome he is,
there is nothing ordinary about Shia; he is different and unique. For me, he
was the perfect choice for this role, he himself is cocky just like his
character, and just like Jake, he seduces our main protagonist Star, as well as
the audience. Shia beholds a bad boy persona, and that definitely comes in
handy when creating and developing such character like Jake. Also, Sasha Lane was
a perfect choice for the film and she perfectly fits the role of Star. Star is
rather enigmatic, she is distant and troubled, and Star is simply someone that
many of us can relate to, she has suffered in life, but yet finds comfort and
peace in the little joys in life. Only a personal that has came to know sadness,
can really feel the happiness of the moment, and this is exactly what Star
represents, when she sings, when she smiles she is like a ray of sunshine that
penetrates through our skin. 
American Honey explores important issues of
adolescent culture, and the film manages to capture the reality of adolescent
sexuality and exploration. Not only do the characters experiment with
recreational drugs, they also experiment with their bodies. From the beginning
of the film, it is clear to see that there is sexual tension, desire and lust
between Jake and Star; it is just a matter of time before they take their
romance further. It is possible to argue, that the living conditions and poor
social status of Star (and the majority of the characters) has almost forced
her to grow up too soon; there is a sense of stolen youth. However, on the other hand, Star and Jake
both still carry childish immaturity within them. Their relationship is heated,
impulsive, powerful, but yet, somewhat carries danger. Perhaps, this is how
young relationships should be represented; films often offer their audience a
fairytale outlook on love, however, young love is far from fairytales, it is
irresponsible, irrational but full of lust and passion. The ending of the film
is rather ambiguous, there are many questions left unanswered. However, real
life does not have a Hollywood happy ending, therefore, by concluding the film
in such an ambiguous way, the director stayed faithful to the authentic
portrayal of life. It feels as if the director was just ending a chapter of
Star’s life, the chapter that we as an audience, had the privilege of witnessing,
therefore there should not be an obvious ending, the film ends, but Star’s
story lives on, as she embarks on yet, another journey. For me the ending emanated
beauty and radiated hope, perhaps Star has finally found a place where she
belongs.
American Honey takes its audience on a journey of discovery.
The characters (and most arguably, all youths) are impulsive and unpredictable,
therefore, the film manages to capture the audience’s attention all the way
through the film. Unconsciously, we as an audience, become friends with the
gang, we are in the van with them when they go on road trips, when they try to
make money, and most importantly, when they have fun; and in result we find ourselves
singing along to the songs playing in the background, we feel an urge to dance
with them near the camp fire. Although, films which focus on reality are
important in the sense that they have a major ability to tackle rather
important issues, even ‘true to life’ films can provoke a sense of escapism
within its audiences. American Honey certainly does not aim to sugar-coat
American youth culture, but yet, we find ourselves being absorbed by the
narrative; and in result we picture ourselves driving in the van along with the
characters, who by now, have become ‘our’ friends. Running away, feeling free
and having the ‘anything is possible’ outlook on life, is a fantasy of mine and
certainly of many others. This is exactly why I love the art of filmmaking, as
film is the medium which allows us to escape, run away and experience new
things without leaving the comfort of our homes. As a society we have been
programmed to live vicariously. American Honey should be considered as an
important film, not only form a sociological perspective, but due to the
artistic abilities visualised throughout the film. All films have a message,
but some are harder to read, as the films use metaphors and symbolism ,
American Honey is pure, it simply reflects life like a mirror. I highly
recommend the film. American Honey is innovative, fresh and heartfelt. Is it a
film we watch on a Friday night, I would not imagine so. However, American
Honey is a film we watch and which swallows us whole into a new world, where we
have a chance to have a feeling of belonging, acceptance and freedom. Whether
you will like the film or not, the film will linger, long after the ending
credits roll, you will find yourself still thinking about it.
Anna Gaszkowska
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