'American Animals'

American Animals is a movie about the true events of the Transylvania book heist starring Evan Peters and Barry Keoghan. It was way better then I expected. I thought nothing of the movie and, to be honest, I only saw the movie because of Evan Peters. But after seeing it, I can say that I really enjoyed it.

Now I'm not a movie reviewer. I'm not here to give an in-depth review covering every shot and angle of the film. What I will be doing is just talking about this movie, meaning spoilers. I'm mostly going to be discussing the movie. I will foreword this by saying that I liked the movie. That bias may go into the discussion but I will try my best not to let that happen.

For those of you that haven't seen this movie, it is about a book heist that happened at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. Four college students, three going to the University of Kentucky and one going to Transylvania, decided to steal a few books that are worth millions and sell them off. Warren Lipka and Spencer Reinhard got the idea after Reinhard went on a tour of the Transylvania library. Thus the plan was born.

They later added on Chas Allen and Eric Borsuk to help with their plan since they needed a getaway driver and a lookout. They did not get away with the crime and were locked up for seven years. They were dumb kids that did dumb things. One of them still lives in Lexington while the others have moved around.

Their first attempt at the robbery didn't go well. There was a surprise meeting with the librarians so they couldn't get in. They should have just called in quits but Lipka made reservations to see the books the next day and they continued on with the plan. In the first attempt, they had disguises, but they didn't in the second attempt.

Now, this movie is part documentary as well since the filmmaker interviewed the real guys. The filmmaker used the fact that Lipka was the leader to misdirect the audience at the end. Early in the film, Lipka goes to The Netherlands to find a dealer for when they get the books. At the end of the film, the director uses this as a way to make the audience question the legitimacy of Lipka's actions. Since none of the other boys went with him, there is no telling if Lipka actually went to Europe or if he just got a cab and went back home.

Even though the film takes place in Lexington, Kentucky, they filmed in Indiana. That's a little disappointing but they must have had their reasons. As a Kentucky native, I could tell that it wasn't Kentucky. The shots of the city looked nothing like Lexington. The city looked way bigger. It's just a little nitpick and I don't care all that much but it would've been cool if they had actually filmed there.

The acting in the film was really well done. Evan Peters did a great job. Barry Keoghan, who I had previously never seen in a movie before, did an especially well-done performance. He is a talented actor and will probably be doing great things in the future.

An acquaintance of mine actually covered the trial. She's a former news reporter and when I asked her about it, she knew what I was talking about. It was really interesting to hear about it, even though she didn't say much.

Overall, the film is better than expected and a real treat to watch. I would highly recommend watching it. It's really well done and interesting to hear about. If you can find a theatre that plays, go and see it. It's only in select theatres though. If you can't then it'll probably be on Amazon Prime in a bit. I highly recommend it though.