She told me that actually towards the end - which I think this happens because a lot of the managers in the mag crews have been people who have been in the mag crew for a long time and then they become managers, they're people who are good at it and then become managers - she said that she hit someone at one point because they hadn't sold very much. American Honey follows Star (Lane), a young girl from a troubled home, who runs away with a traveling sales crew who drive across the American Midwest selling magazine subscriptions door to door. And Nadia was pretty good at that. Andrea Arnolds American Honey features numerous mise-en-scnes in which the American flag is billowing in the wind. Andrea Arnold, the British filmmaker who became a critics darling with movies like Fish Tank and Wuthering Heights, has directed American Honey in a style that might be described as hip-hop Dardenne brothers. And in "American Honey," the way out is joining this magazine crew. [38][39] The film was shot over 56 days, in several states. We sometimes have some real convincing to do because they think you're just, you know - when we are Sasha, she was on a beach in spring break. All Rights Reserved. Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations. Something about that just calmed me. Star and the kids follow Jake's crew into a K-Mart. The main character (Finn Whitrock) was dead by the midway point eaten by Alma (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), who gets away in the end. Arnold began writing the screenplay in 2013 and it was first announced under the pre-production title Mag Crew at Film4's 2013 Cannes Film Festival party. You know about the five sales tips? ARNOLD: Yeah, that wasn't that professional (laughter). A long time ago, teenagers were seen as delinquent destroyers of the status quo, but we now tend to assume that theyre simply leading the way. Arnold first learned about magazine crews - or mag crews as they're called - from a New York Times article about them. Its hard to be out 10, 12, 18 hours a day, trying to get people to buy things. GROSS: Andrea Arnold, thank you so much for talking with us. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. Usually, theyre at a party, they put some music on, but theyre all dancing to something else, so the rhythms a bit off. People ask me that all the time, like - I always think every time I work on a project I've kind of got to work something out for myself. Rated R "[65] Eric Kohn of Indiewire was enthusiastic, writing that American Honey "proves Andrea Arnold is one of the best working filmmakers and finds a breakout star in Sasha Lane," and that "It's the closest thing to a magnum opus in Arnold's blossoming career. I do believe she did have some growth in And then I was thinking, well, Crystal - what's she doing? American Honey - Rotten Tomatoes All right, let's go. people convey emotion more through action and music than dialogue. engaginga testament to Arnolds direction. It's about a group of teenagers who are abandoned, are homeless and have become something of a family traveling together by van from town to town, state to state selling magazine subscriptions door to door, making up different explanations depending on who opens the door. ARNOLD: A little bit. In a series of dynamic, episodic scenes, the young woman dives into this unusual work, enduring her domineering boss (a sexy, trashy Riley Keough) and This is FRESH AIR. [41] The soundtrack was released digitally by UMe on September 30, 2016. motion toward an uncertain future. GROSS: If you're just joining us, my guest is Andrea Arnold. American Honey: The Most Beautifully Anarchicand All rights reserved. An essential element of youth is movement. Arnold became inspired by lives of American youths in "magazine crews" who travel the United States selling magazine subscriptions, an occupation that has caused controversy in the United States. - in England? Which is why Arnold doesnt want her movie to be read as an outsiders definitive State of the Union. I want them to feel safe. I put all the stuff in my films, so that I don't, you know - I can't talk about those things. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. So it was tremendous training and a very good kind of - it was home for me for a long time. The music serves as an essential component of the film and adds to its impact, helping to bring its themes to life. Star follows them to a local Kmart and sees Jake dance to "We Found Love" on top of the registers before being forced out of the store. ARNOLD: Yeah. I had this feeling something just told me to go with it. And she did., Trending The soundtrack of "American Honey" is an eclectic mix of popular songs, indie rock, and hip-hop, reflecting the eclectic tastes of the film's young characters. Like for this film, they went out to like county fairs or they go to Wal-Mart, and they would just sit around and like look for people that might be the right kind of people for the film. And then I sent them out, like, selling just to see how they would do (laughter). ARNOLD: Oh, that's so personal (laughter). So, you know, I think it's, you know - that if I make another film and it's about people who are 60 that maybe I have worked some stuff out at last. I dance just basically all the time now. Honey. Theres a bit of a villain in Riley Keoughs Krystal, the head of the Both Star and Jake are not exactly what you would call upright, law-abiding citizens. So I never really asked her that much about it before we started, and then we're all filming. But I never got one. The warning should speak to all of us, because its not about the perils of too much sex and drugs and heavy-beat rap & roll, though those things are connected to it. Running 163 minutes, the film provides a Zeitgeist-y snapshot of American youth culture the carefree partying, passionate sex and bitter resignation but its intimate enough to feel like a deeply personal work. "American Honey" explores themes of youth, freedom, and the search for identity, and is a visually stunning and emotionally charged film. So they make this surrogate family. But if I explain it, I feel like then we take the mystery of film away. WebThat's the genius and pain of American Honey: the depiction of a world that seems unlimited but which offers no sense at all of how to take advantage of that And theres people, led by a flirtatious Jake (Shia LaBeouf), offer a way out for Star. wait to get goin/But wasnt quite ready to leave. This brilliant European And that just seems so key, like, being seduced into it and then making sure that there's no one who's going to miss you to make sure that - that means that you're vulnerable and also that no one's going to come looking for you. I'm Terry Gross, and this is FRESH AIR. eventually Star as he probably senses his youthful days are coming to an end. That's how we found all of them really. I notice that in so many films! Wouldnt you know it but Jake shows upmistakenly believing that the cowboys are taking advantage of Starand robs them at gunpoint. After the guy drops her off, she hears him being attacked. When theyre American Honey Movie Review | Common Sense Media All rights reserved. American honey ending? : r/flicks - Reddit Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian Folk-Rock Troubadour, Dead at 84 They - they're both broke. [46] In May 2016, Universal Pictures and Focus Features acquired international distribution rights to the film. The following morning, the crew get in the car and there is a new girl there, while Jake is missing. American Honey WebAmerican Honey streaming: where to watch online? In a later shot it's white again - the same color as the rest of the car. She wrote and directed the new film "American Honey." LaBeoufs all-in performance as the scroungy, fast-talking Jake has deservedly received plenty of attention since the movie premiered at Cannes, where it won the Jury Prize. Im not trying to do a whole thing about America that is everybodys idea about America, she admits. And I get really into it, so I go out, too. We get some of those deckchairs and sit outside Wal-Mart. chance to escape her unhappy home life. And she plays a teenager whose mother is an alcoholic and pays little attention to her, and the mother has a new boyfriend played by Michael Fassbender. GROSS: Oh, it's fake tan. And then she realizes that Jake is there, too. "American Honey" is a coming-of-age drama film directed by Andrea Arnold and written by Arnold, from a story by photographer and writer Larry Clark. The film stars newcomer Sasha Lane as Star, a young woman who joins a traveling magazine sales crew, and follows her journey as she navigates the challenges of life on the road. You've got to read them. How do you go looking for them when you're not putting out a casting call? GROSS: So the the two films of yours that I've seen "Fish Tank" and your new film "American Honey" are about teenagers with a focus on teenage girls who have little or no affection from their mothers. That's why it's quite and the [19] Arnold discovered Sasha Lane while she was on spring break with her friends; Lane decided to audition for the film and was cast in the lead role. The director unfortunately has more mixed feelings about her subjects, and others might just find that a tad bit troubling. I'm always impressed when filmmakers know exactly what they're doing. WhatSong is the worlds largest collection of movie & tv show soundtracks and playlists. Once you get this one step down, you're the chief of the tribe. And Arnold and cinematographer Robbie Ryan She's really good at it because I - at the very beginning, I used to fuss. I didnt know that much about all that., Still, there was the matter of finding Star. GROSS: Who need a way out of the situation that they're in. I think - yeah, this is kind of - this is a little strong, but I'm going to go with it. And she wants to look brown all the time (laughter). There are sex scenes, and you wont wanna do some things that Im gonna ask you to do. 'American Honey': The Story Behind the Year's Best Road Movie [64] This is Arnold's third time winning the Jury Prize, after Red Road in 2006 and Fish Tank in 2009. (0:28) The crew arrive at Kansas City. Star asks for a thousand and performs sexually for the money. And she's also showing the teenage girl, who's now part of the crew, that she's going to be dominated, too. What American Honey Says About the Kids: No, Theyre Variety is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Star is interviewed by the crew's leader, Krystal, who hires her after she establishes that Star is a legal person, that no one will miss her, and that she promises to work hard. [13][14][15] In researching for the film, Arnold embarked on a road trip from California to Miami, Florida. that it would hamper a film that could have so easily taken advantage of the That - I felt when all of the people I talked to, that was pretty - I'm actually really happy you picked up on that little moment because that was really important to me, the no one's going to miss you thing. Pagan: You know what Darth Vader looks like beneath that mask? Its around this time that Jake reveals he has a stash of jewellery that hes stolen from various potential customers at the houses he visits, which he eventually plans to sell in order to purchase a house. See, 'cause in Jake's book, there's one step - not five, just one. Thats a question that adults have been asking ever since the teenager was invented as a stand-alone demographic entity, sometime in the early 40s. It's about a group of teenagers who are abandoned, are homeless and have become something of a family traveling together by van from town to town, state to Reckless, fearless, joyous, always-moving youth. I kinda loved that.. around the next corner kept us unsettled and needing to move. Since Star is new, she is paired with Jake, the veteran of the group. So I went to that audition, and I thought I'm just going to go around the stage like a cat. The crew arrive at a suburban neighborhood. American Honey follows Star (Lane), a young girl from a troubled home, who runs away with a traveling sales crew who drive across the American Midwest selling magazine subscriptions door to door. Here we go. I learned so much about cameras and about putting things together and all the kind of things that I use now in what I do. And I think wow that's - I wish I was like that. Its the least moralistic youth movie imaginable, and thats exactly why its such a potent warning. All the Time (feat. going somewhere, anywhere other than here. Just like the rest of us. GROSS: So what stories did you hear from the one person who you cast who had actually done this sort of work? There were shows that I hadn't heard of because I don't think they've been on in the U.S. You know, I got a little lost there in my teens, and I'm really working on myself, man. And so the head of the crew says, OK, you're hired. The crew ends up living temporarily in a rundown house, and Jake and Star renew their relationship. [28], In May 2015, filming was reported in Muskogee, Okmulgee, and Norman, Oklahoma. Is it really enough though? [37] Filming wrapped on 5 July 2015. GROSS: Andrea Arnold, welcome to FRESH AIR. exaggerated imagery of the heartland of the United Statesmen in cowboy hats So it was kind of a mixed thing. They had a good time, but it was also not an easy time for some of them. Quickly, she encounters a group of teenagers in a nearby mega-store and sees a After a break, we'll hear from the creator of the FXX comedy series "You're The Worst," Stephen Falk and the series co-star Aya Cash. Jake offers Star a job before his crew picks him up at the parking lot. That was my sense from talking to a lot of these kids. that hes worked with a few Stars along the way, and while Arnold never explicitly For decades, teen rebellion has been the cutting edgeof sexual revolution (how to dress, dance, hook up),and who wants to take a stand against that? Star has a dream too, of sorts: She fantasizes that she can be with Jake, that theyll move to a shack somewhere and have lots of kids. You were a dancer - right? After Jake steals the white Cadillac and hits the road, the right side mirror housing is blue. American Honey is a 2016 road drama film written and directed by Andrea Arnold. The film stars Sasha Lane, Shia LaBeouf and Riley Keough. American Honey follows Star (Lane), a young girl from a troubled home, who runs away with a traveling sales crew who drive across the American Midwest selling magazine subscriptions door to door. They flirt and charm their way into selling a product that no one really wants. Any sad spiel, and they'll just say it over and over and over again 'til it's meaningless. American Honey (film) - Wikipedia It shines in citrus-influenced cocktails or sipped as a digestif, but bourbon fans may find it too sweet and lacking complexity. But she has to report to Krystal, who's really hardened, tough woman who runs the crew. This is FRESH AIR. And she was standing at a gas station and a mag crew kind of rolled in to get some gas. (2:30) The van arrives to pick up the crew. Honey Arnold's latest film, which won the Jury Prize at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, tells the story of a group of abandoned teenagers who travel together selling magazine subscriptions door-to-door. GROSS: So since I don't have the answer to that, let me ask you another question. ' Arnold laughs. Star then immerses herself fully before rising out of the water. [20][21][22][23] The remainder of the cast were found in parking lots, construction sites, streets, and state fairs. So can you describe those shows for us? They were - they were not thinking really about the magazines. ", "Los Cabos Awards: 'American Honey,' 'Tamara & The Ladybug' Win Big at Mexican Fest", "Women Film Critics Circle Nominations: "Hidden Figures," "13th," & More", Black Reel Award for Outstanding Independent Film, British Independent Film Award for Best British Film, Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Ensemble Acting, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_Honey_(film)&oldid=1152150709, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Album articles lacking alt text for covers, Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 28 April 2023, at 14:39.