Americana

An ensemble cast of peculiar characters all struggling to possess a valuable native American artifact. They mostly have zero experience in the criminal side of society and are laughably bad trying to learn.

The story is told in chapters, Tarantino style. Unlike Tarantino, all but one of the chapters are told in linear order, so apart from the change of character the chapters are meaningless.

Another difference from Tarantino is that the characters are left somewhat cartoonish. Not 2 dimensional, but not deeply developed either. It would be easy to add 30 minutes delving into the characters backstory and getting us more invested in their story arc. But that would get gritty and unpleasant in a way this movie doesn't want. In particular with the father character and those at his house.

I had not looked at the body of work for writer, director Tony Tost. But looking now I see Pokerface, The Terror, and a host of other good shows. He's made another winner here. There's also mention of a Forrest Whitaker movie in the dialogue, I need to look that up.

Best performances go to Zahn McClarnon, Gavin Maddox Bergmen, and Sydney Sweeney, in that order. Zahn and Gavin get a good amount of screen time together and those are some of the best moments in the movie.

I'm between giving this a 7 or 8. I will go with 8 because it appears the recent Jean ad featuring Ms Sweeney has provoked some people into dumping 1 star reviews here. My biggest complaint would be the title, which seems to suggest the movie will reflect core American values. It doesn't. It is set in the heartland (south dakota) and lovingly filmed in and around albuquerque, but that alone doesn't warrant a title of that significance.

"Americana" is the story of a small town somewhere in South Dakota. We meet a large group of eccentric characters -- among them thug Dillon, his girlfriend Mandy and her little brother Cal (who claims he is the reincarnation of Sitting Bull), stuttering waitress Penny Jo, and goofy but kind-hearted vet Lefty. A very valuable Native American artifact goes onto the black market and the chase for it becomes wild and violent involving the folk I just mentioned and many others...

"Americana" is clearly an attempt to emulate Tarantino. And for a while, it does a really good job. The stories and timelines all intertwine nicely. The characters are engaging and the performances are solid (especially Paul Walter Hauser and Sydney Sweeney, who make Lefty and Penny Jo a charming and quirky pairing). However, about 2/3 of the way through, writer/director Tony Tost seems to run out of idea so it's just "everybody shoots." It sort of peters out at the end, which is a shame, since a killer ending would have really elevated this flick.

Overall though, in a world of IP and huge budget messes, "Americana" is a breath of fresh air. Not perfect by any length, but still pretty entertaining and definitely worth checking out and supporting.

There are enough likeable characters here with own special quirks - country music and reincarnation obsessions, art theft and cultural appropriation - to make "Americana" a fun late summer journey to the movies. Sydney Sweeney before she was involved in any eugenics controversy, Halsey, and Paul Walter Hauser along with a great Zahn McClarnon all offer something interesting, sort of like "Nashville" and "Thunderheart" thrown in a blender. It along with "Eddington" give hope that a kind of revival of nineties indie cinema might be around the corner, or at least before the next Superman reboot.

I have no problem with Sydney's political stance (I love Mel Gibson's films and even laughed at several of Rob Schneider's), but it's just another run-of-the-mill film by the actress who doesn't stand out in any way. Whoever wants to see it, let them.

Too forgettable and not memorable. 2 of 10 my review.

Tony Tost gifts us a story with nostalgic roots of the American West, cowboys, Indian tribes, wide open spaces and our collective aspirations for better lives. He gathered some amazing Talent in this cast. Kudos Mister Tost on your directorial and writing for film debut.. Well done you.

Well done Miss Sweeney. Excellent portrayal Mister Hauser. And Halsey! Wow! And your first role out of the gate! I think we'll be seeing you each on many many more big screen appearances.

My advice to the cast and crew. Grab hold of Tony's shirt tail and keep hold of it. I think he's going to be on one heck of a ride as an authentic new voice in American film.