Americana

This movie was an unexpected gem. Quirky characters and storylines develop well and intertwine until they all come together in a totally unexpected and dramatic way. When the movie was wrapping up, I didn't want people around me to know I was on the verge of tears. I will be stopping at the store to buy some PBR!

It's a black comedy-drama Western set in modern times in South Dakota and Wyoming. The story unfolds in multiple parts as we meet all the characters. They include young Cal Starr (Gavin Maddox Bergman), his mother, Mandy (Halsey), and her live-in boyfriend, Dillon MacIntosh (Eric Dane). Mandy comes from a very unusual family. There is the "ghost shirt," which has great spiritual significance for the local Lakota People, that is stolen at the direction of antiques dealer Roy Lee Dean (Simon Rex). Ghost Eye (Zahn McClarnon), head of the local Lakota resistance movement, wants its return. Two people insert themselves into the story after overhearing the plot at the local diner. They are waitress Penny Jo Poplin (Sydney Sweeney), an aspiring country singer, and romantically-deprived Lefty Ledbetter (Paul Walter Hauser).

"Americana" could be mistaken for a Coen Brothers film, with off-center characters who get involved in events far beyond their ability to control. The humor is Coen-like. There is a lot of violence, but this is a Western in which the Lakota acquit themselves well. There's also a feminist angle. Halsey, Sydney Sweeney, Paul Walter Hauser, and Eric Dane all perform well. The pace is good and the story engaging despite the multitude of themes.

The Roger Ebert reviewer didn't like "Americana," but I did.

Americana (2025) is a crime thriller movie written and directed by Tony Tost in his directorial debut. This is a movie I chose to watch because of who was in the cast and I can say that the movie was pretty good.

Positives for Americana (2025): I like the story of having a set of eccentric characters going after an item that causes a lot of chaos in South Dakota. The ensemble cast is great and you have Sydney Sweeney, Paul Walter Hauser, Halsey, Simon Rex, Eric Dane and Zahn McClarnon. They play their characters very well and are crazy enough to get me invest in the story. I really enjoyed the relationship between the characters and how they interact with one another. I also like the way how the movie is told in these different chapters. And finally, the third act of this movie is really insane and entertaining.

Negatives for Americana (2025): It definitely feels like Tony Tost was trying to do his version of a Quentin Tarantino movie, but he isn't Tarantino and the movie feels like it has no identity. There are too many characters to follow and they are all kinds of weird with their personalities, despite being acted very well by the cast. I also don't understand why these people are after this one item and it was just really dumb. And finally, the third act feels like Tony Tost had all of these ideas in his head and he shoved them into this one movie and none of them are developed enough for me to care.

Overall, Americana (2025) was a good directorial debut for Tony Tost and I am looking forward to see what he does next.

AMERICANA is not a disaster. In fact, it's maybe 3/4ths of a very good movie. This neo-Western crime caper has a lot to say both about America's violent past and its fractious, identity politics poisoned present, but it should have taken the time to develop those ideas more fully.

Don't be fooled by Sydney Sweeney's top billing-she's probably the third or even fourth lead. She's fine enough, though her character is underwritten and stuck with a character trait that probably seemed better on the page than how it plays on screen. Halsey is fierce and along with Zahn Mcclarnon probably gives the movie's best performance.

AMERICANA looks and feels like an early Coen Brothers film or something Tarantino might have tried before Pulp Fiction, but it lacks the style, pace and wit that either of those filmmakers would bring to the material. But you could do worse movie-wise these days and if you go in open minded, you might just come away liking this one.

For a heist movie, this seems to move real slow. Character development are important but film maker seem to not care about run time. If you like Halsey, she makes an appearance early for a short time then disappears until much later then you get a lot of. This film conceptually sound good but it is only (small) part heist. Not even half way through I've already lost interest. I stuck it out and luckily the kid and ghost face aka Henry scene kept me a little invested how the movie progresses. In my opinion the character Henry Alvin made this film tolerable. Halsey did good (I think this is her film debut) acting out her parts. The film is mostly drama and I realized this after much given thought. The end is perfect as it didn't fall into the trappings of a feel good film - the reincarnation nonsense was resoundingly rejected by the true adult in this film. The ending makes perfect sense also because Halsey's character finally realizes true wealth. What would make this film score higher than my six out of ten rating is if they had less of that excruciatingly slow scenes (yes, multiple) with hefty lefty cowboy and Sydney's character.