We were lucky enough to see the festival favorite American Animals at SXSW last month, and we’re kind of mystified by this trailer. Directed by Bart Layton (who made the now-classic The Imposter back in 2012), it seems the distributors — The Orchard and, bizarrely enough, Moviepass Ventures — are trying to keep the fact that this is pretty much a documentary with famous re-enactors hidden from view.
It’s also selling you on a movie you’re probably not going to get when you sit down and see it, but hey, that’s advertising, right? We’re just trying to warn you, friends: Keep your expectations in check. But if you need a quick adrenaline burst at work, watch this trailer, which will make you want to run through a concrete wall.
Make your choice, pilgrim — peep it or don’t:
So, yes. Technically this isn’t “based on a true story” since it’s a kind of pain-staking recreation of what the actual perpetrators of the heist tell us, but there’s enough fudging going on here to make it fun for all involved. It’s an odd duck of a movie, but there’s a ton of fun waiting for you between the title and the credits if you’re willing to roll with it.
There’s a reason this played like gangbusters at every festival it’s managed to come across, and it’s definitely an affable movie. Plus, that cast is excellent: Barry Keoghan gives another stunning performance, and Evan Peters does a swell enough job being the kind of charismatic asshole that’ll get you to rob a damn campus library. So be on the lookout for this one, especially if you’re local to Boston: It’ll be playing as a part of IFFBoston at the end of the month — specifically on April 26 — at The Somerville Theatre.
For everybody else, American Animals will hit theaters on June 1.
Featured image via The Orchard.