Stream it: Not bad, not good: Somewhere in the middle.
It would appear that rashomon style of story telling is making a resurgence.
The term was coined (and used) because of the 1950 Akira Kurosawa film of the same name. In the movie, a horrific event takes place and the audience views the event through the eyes of each person involved. It plays on the ideology that there are always three sides to a story: What he said, what she said and what really happened.
Americana isn’t completely in this vein, however, the beginning of the event is and all characters are led to the same location to when said event takes place. We know everyone’s thoughts, feelings and motivations. You’re pretty sure you can guess the ending, but it doesn’t hit like you want it to.
Lefty (Paul Walter Hauser) showing Penny Jo (Sydney Sweeney) the finer points of barroom sports.
Mandy (Halsey) is in an abusive relationship with an over-bearing, drunk, filled-to-the-brim with toxic masculinity jerk, Dillon (Eric Dane). Although she really hates him, her former life as a maiden to a christian cult is far worse and she needs her son Cal (Gavin Maddox Bergman) to see a structure outside of insanity. Cal is an interesting boy. He believes he is the reincarnation of Sitting Bull and he must stay on his people’s stolen land to do right by the Gods.
Lefty (not a nickname, and he’s right handed; Paul Walter Hauser) is forever looking for his life partner. He can’t seem to go on a few dates without proposing marriage. Like normal, all the women are freaked out and leave him, thus the cycle of loneliness continues. While practicing his latest proposal at a diner, he meets Penny Jo (Sydney Sweeney) and although there is no romantic connection, the two seem like they understand each other. See, Lefty is kind of a loser and a screw up, although he does have a job and a house. Penny Jo is gorgeous with a horrendous stutter, but she has big Nashville singing dreams. One day while cleaning up after a customer, Penny Jo looks at a napkin the customer was writing on and discovers there’s some sort of big money-laden deal going down at the diner on Friday. She informs Lefty, who comes up with a plan to overhear the conversation.
Roy Lee Dean (Simon Rex) and his hat.
Turns out the local Native American museum head, Roy Lee Dean (Simon Rex) has hired Dillon and the disposable Fun Dave (Joe Adler) to rob the uber rich and collector of rare artifacts, Pendleton (Toby Huss) of his Ghost Shirt. In Lakota Native American culture, a Ghost Shirt was a shirt which was believed to possess spiritual powers and would protect the wearer of the shirt from harm (including bullets). In the film, the shirt is priceless and in reality it’s more up to the purchaser (they range in price around $1000 – hundreds of thousands).
The robbery goes down, Mandy escapes to her former life (temporarily) and Cal, ehh, Sitting Bull visits the local tribe led by Ghost Eye (named after a Jim Jarmusch flick and a Wu-tang Clan member. Why? Because it’s badass; played by Zahn McClarnon) and Hank (Derke Hinkey) who both: 1. Hate Roy Lee Dean for what he’s done to their culture and 2. Are very much interested in obtaining that shirt.
The movie boils down to a shoot out at the Christian Cult Corral. Are there any winners in a world filled with losers? Will Penny Jo reach her Dolly Parton fantasy? Will Lefty get that final “yes” he’s been wanting? Will Mandy finally be free of the restraints in the world to raise Cal, who desperately needs structure in a chaotic world? What about Ghost Eye and Hank? They want their culture to themselves and to hell with Roy Lee Dean and his 10-gallon hat.
Ghost Eye (Zahn McClarnon), Cal/Sitting Bull (Gavin Bergman) and Hank (Derek Hinkey) want that shirt.
When looking at Tony Tost, it’s a no brainer he made a movie like this: Smart enough for the dumb crowds and dumb enough for the smart crowds. It’s a good old fashion western set in the new west (as the tagline suggests) with great characters that give you enough info so you can like them and figure out what will happen after the credits. His directing revolves around the American experience and his background is much like his movies: blue collar, hard working. Tost does hold a PhD in English from Duke University, but he’s as much a roughneck as the old cowboys. Although his first feature film debuted poorly ($500k on 1,100 theaters), I think, much like he tweeted out that this film will be rediscovered and appreciated. As for “professional critics” who are trying to stir controversy with Sweeney and her American Eagle ad in relation to this movie: It’s people like you who are the reason why no one trusts critics.
Films like Americana are a solid OK. There isn’t anything that warrants a negative rating, but it wasn’t a great movie. It’s beautifully shot and there’s no doubt the crew had a blast, but overall, the fault lies in it being like a Cohen Brothers movie without the quirky jokes, fun characters or excellent soundtrack. It’s not to say that I had a bad time watching this movie, but overall, it’s difficult to tell people to rush to watch.
Mandy (Halsey) is nobody’s fool.
Americana is now playing in theaters.
Written and directed by Tony Tost
Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Paul Walter Hauser and Halsey
Genre: Dark comedy, western
Rated: R
Runtime: 107 min.
Classic American Movies 
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