Joe Stemme Ambitious and Frustrating. Lyrical and wrongheaded. Exciting and exasperating. All of those contradictory phrases apply to Director Andrea Arnold's (the terrific FISH TANK) coming of age story which plays out largely plotlessly for 2 hours and 40 minutes in the American heartland as we follow an 18 year old drifter. One cannot fault Arnold for her vision and desire to show something so intimate over such a large scale, even if it never fully forms. The instinct is to fault the 163 minute length. But, this is the rare case where simply cutting it wouldn't likely have helped. Rather, the movies many astonishing moments (some only a few seconds long) wouldn't have worked without the largeness of the project. After seeing it, it's quite clear why the movie has been so divisive when it has played at places like Cannes and now with critics. It's a work that demands to be seen, even if virtually everybody's take on it will likely be different. And, is that such a bad thing with so many rote movies being made?

powermandan Teenager can't help but wonder: who are we? Where are we going? Why do we have to get there? Why me? What's the point? Many road movies in the past have felt with these questions and they've turned out better than this. Did you really expect this to be better than Stand By Me?The centre of it all is Star. She's the less attractive version of Chloe-Grace Moretz. She lives in a dysfunctional family in Oklahoma and wants to get away from it all. The look that we get into her home life is brief, but enough for us to wish her hit the road. She sees a group of rebellious teens rip up a K-Mart and gets info about their next stops. The dude that charms her and informs her is Jake, played by Shia LaBeouf. He's cool, cocky, charming, and has a dumb ponytail. His crew sells magazines door-to-door. Since the internet steals business and there's a plethora of magazines at candy stores, the crew barely makes any money. Just enough for gas, food, and motels. Her first destination is Kansas City. After that, it's to wherever else. American Honey is an episodic look at life on the road. At each town and each pitch, the viewer becomes fully invested. Will Star screw up? Will any of the crew members get in trouble? There's fun and heartbreak. She falls for Jake almost immediately. She loves his attitude and not taking any crap. She likes the other members and their wild nature, with the only exception being Krystal--the head of the operation. Star isn't cut out for being a door-to-door saleslady, going cross-country and encountering people from all walks of life is helping her grow into a mature woman. American Honey takes a wonderful look at young lost souls. They're disconnected from society. These people are going nowhere. Their world is a minivan that travels from place to place. Along the way are beautiful shots and images of the good ole' US of A. There isn't much of a revelation and the ending is pretty open-ended, but that's not a takeaway from the experience we had with Star. One of the best things about American Honey is its filmmaking. This is such an immersive film that makes the experience all-the-more special. The aspect ratio is a little odd for an American epic, but that adds to the intimacy and authenticity. There is lots of symbolic shots and motifs (such as a melting turkey) and the movie takes full advantage of the unspoken word. This is an art-house film, but that doesn't mean it is made any worse than something big-budgeted. In fact, this was one of the best created films this year. This is a movie to see more than once. Get to know what kind of movie this is, and prepare yourself for the ride of your life.

markgorman Andrea Arnold's debut movie, Red Road, is a shocking social documentary style movie that is breathtaking in its boldness and unflinching in its depiction of a Glasgow underclass that most of us do not know.  American Honey does a similar job of depicting an American class that's seldom caught on screen and was cast mainly from the street.It too is pretty unflinching in its depiction of drug taking, young sex and the unwinding of an American dream; of sorts.It's a road movie that follows the fortunes of 18 year old abused runaway, Star, and her relationship with a group of young magazine salespeople touring the country looking for door to door sales in a variety of American housing schemes (both rich and poor).It leads to an episodic series of events that range from amusing to totally horrific.Arnold's style is uncompromising.  It, like Grand Budapest Hotel, is shot in square (Instagram) format which gives it a certain contemporaneity and the photography, that is mainly cinema verite, occasionally bursts into beautiful, glorious, rich warmth such that it takes your breath away.It's a compelling performance by Sasha Lane as Star and Shia LaBeouf also impresses as her mentor and, later, lover.  Riley Keogh is also excellent as the aloof, slightly terrifying team leader who lives a separate life of relative luxury while her band of stoner sales people rough it in hostels.But it's an uncomfortable ride that rewards your patience.

J M IRISH In a post Thatcher/Reagan era which seemed to pin point a generational shift in the U.K.into an age when individual materialism became an accepted lifestyle , how refreshing it is to see a U K socialist realist perspective on that part of this generation born in America , however . A film out of the stable which has evolved via television and "shameless"/"breaking bad" character drama. "American Honey" is real cinematic quality, with characters and a mis en scene that offers no simple solutions; thus, a home and family loving truck driver is seen to be earning money driving animals ,packed in a wagon, to the abattoir; the lead character pees in the grass and pulls up her trousers while gazing over an American landscape of iconic beauty. There is no one who is genuinely villainous, and no one who is truly heroic perfection.There is just the fight to survive, materially, culturally, mentally in a free enterprise American society of inequality , Mexican walls, Bible Belts,meth addict mothers, Donald Trump, lost truths, love,natural wonders,oil fields,and maybe an American Dream.