I would have gone by myself, but shockingly four of my friends were curious enough to go with me to see the movie that I would so eloquently describe as, “Shia LaBeouf and some girl going across country in a van with some other people to sell magazines.” Although I lacked knowledge of the film, there was something about the warmth, humor, quirkiness, and friendship of the band of misfits emanating through the trailer as they drive down a highway while dancing and singing along to “ I Like Tuh” that made me incredibly intrigued. And so one rainy Saturday my friends and I trekked over to an indie theater in Cambridge to see what this movie was all about. I was charmed to find that American Honey is a movie that brilliantly showcases the innocence and wonderment that humans carry in their unbearable desire to be part of a community that honors their person and accepts their faults.
The film takes place in an American Dream, one much more gritty than what is usually shown in the front of a theater. It occurs in an America that is tainted with alcohol and drugs. The plot is surrounded by swears, sex, poverty and exploitation. Star (Sasha Lane) is very used to this America but is new to a group of young adults that travel through this vision trying to sell enough magazines to buy food, gas, and a hotel room for the night so that they can go through the same routine in another location tomorrow. The group is surprisingly lead by a woman, Krystal (Riley Keough), who takes on the stereotypical male role as a pimp. She organizes the travel arrangements, sets quotas as to how many magazines need to be sold, enforces punishments when her workers fall short, while doing none of the actual work of selling the magazines. Her biggest seller, and perhaps the man she abuses the most, is Jake (Shia LaBeouf). Jake becomes Star’s mentor and, almost inevitably, her lover. Their relationship is toxic, and they fall into problems faster than they can fall into love. Jake and Star’s endeavor to discover where they fit in with each other is paralleled with the journey that everyone else in the film takes to fit into a group. The characters spend most of their time together driving and creating an inescapable bond. With so much of the movie taking place in a van, there is an embodiment of the message that ‘no matter what happend, one must continue forward.’ These characters are lucky to have each to share this experience with. The film bravely captures so much of the human experience with scenes of utmost tenderness and nearly unthinkable hate in what really is only a stripped down road trip.
Unlike honey, with its sweet, simple, and classic taste– this movie is odd, complex, and at times hard to swallow; however, the everlasting sense of hope carried on throughout the film allowed me to feel a sense of security and comfort while trying to make sense of my loneliness and individualism through the characters’ experiences. I would have never thought that this movie, as shown beautifully through a lense of grunge, could mimic my own stories and struggles as a college freshman so well.