By Kathryn Whitney Boole
FILM REVIEW
AMERICANA
Rated R
107 Minutes
Released August 15th
This movie plays like a classic Owen Wister or Zane Grey Western novel. Each character is layered, richly colorful, and has their own fascinating story going on amidst the unrelenting advance of the main plot. No one character is the “good guy” or the “bad guy.” Each one has their virtues and their flaws; each has their needs and goals that are entirely personal. But they need to depend on the others, and gradually they all become intertwined into a massive ball of humanity until the tale reaches its climax.
The screenplay by director Tony Tost should be nominated for awards, as should his directing. Casting director Angelique Midthunder pulled together an extraordinary cast who gave outstanding performances. The dialogue is perfect – each character speaks in their own personal melodic language that emanates from their personality and background. Never is too much said, and the words draw a picture of the situation, and of the emotional state and personality of the character saying them. These people cover several cross-sections of the American diaspora, divergent communities in tradition, beliefs, day-to-day life, and relationships. They intersect in the story and affect change in one another.
Director Tost has lived his own Americana. He grew up living in mobile homes in the small town of Enumclaw, Washington, the son of two school janitors. Tost always followed his own path. He studied American literature, creative writing, and poetry while working jobs at a pickle factory, as a fast-food employee, a janitor, a motel clerk, a dishwasher, a landscaper, and a grocery store clerk. He went to community college in Washington, received his BA from College of the Ozarks in Missouri, his MFA from the University of Arkansas, and his PhD from Duke in 2011.
His book of poetry, The Invisible Bride, won the 2003 Walt Whitman Award, and he’s written a book about Johnny Cash. He’s inspired by Cash, Sam Peckinpah, Clint Eastwood, John Ford, Howard Hawks, James Mangold, Quentin Tarantino, the Coens, and others, including Sergio Leone Westerns and Samurai films. He was a writer and showrunner on Longmire (2012-2017) and Damnation (2017-2018). He shot Americana in early 2022, and it premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March 2023. It’s finally being released in theatres.
The locations and interiors created by production designer Russell Barnes are vibrant and realistic, and many shots by cinematographer Nigel Bluck will linger in your mind. Barnes’ backdrops make you feel like you’ve stepped into a lived-in environment.
This is an ensemble piece, with each cast member being a key to the story. Sydney Sweeney plays a diner waitress with a stammer. At the time this film was shot, she had yet to take on the huge publicity burden that she deals with now (quite capably, I’ll add). She is truly believable as a shy, nervous character who grows immensely in the story. Sweeney herself has a completely different personality. An executive producer and writer, as well as an actor, she is in charge of her career and her life.
She was born in Spokane, Washington, and raised in the Idaho panhandle in a house that her family has lived in for 5 generations. She moved to LA with her family when she was 13. She speaks Russian and Spanish, is trained in Mixed Martial Arts, and is a vintage car enthusiast. You may know her from her roles on Euphoria, The White Lotus, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), and Anyone but You (2023), and probably from her recent ad for American Eagle jeans, which has received great notoriety. Since “no publicity is bad publicity,” the ad works for both the jeans and Sweeney’s career.
Paul Walter Hauser and popular musician Halsey play pivotal roles. Hauser has been working a lot lately, though you probably won’t recognize him from his role as “Mole Man” from The Fantastic Four: First Steps. He is an accomplished stand-up comedian and character actor who has worked in film and TV since 2010. Halsey grew up in New Jersey and played viola, violin, and cello as a kid. She took up acoustic guitar at the age of 14. By 18, her music was her source of income.
She has earned success in music and film while living with bipolar disorder, which she’s had since childhood. Her influences are Alanis Morissette, The Cure, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, and especially Dolores O’Riordan of the Cranberries. Halsey’s high sensitivity serves her well in her music and her acting. This film also boasts excellent performances from young Gavin Maddox Bergman, Zahn McClarnon, and Simon Rex.
Americana is an excellent piece of American cinematic literature. The only aspect of the film I would have changed is a flashback at the beginning. I believe the scene would have been just as effective if left at its point in the time frame. There are many insightful takeaways from this movie, and it is one of those that, if you had the time, you could see it repeatedly and always come away with something new. One concept is that your environment shapes your personality. You can’t just decide to become someone from a different background. Only writers and actors get to do that.
Kathryn Whitney Boole has spent most of her life in the entertainment industry, which has been the backdrop for remarkable adventures with extraordinary people. She is a Talent Manager with Studio Talent Group in Santa Monica. kboole@gmail.com
