Mass circulation

American Honey

Crit

I'm not the first to notice, but this family road picture is a modern Oliver Twist, with Krystal (Riley Keough) as Fagin, Jake (Shia LaBeouf) her Artful Dodger, and Star (newcomer Sasha Lane) our Oliver. The game is selling magazine subscriptions door to door (or rig to rig at truck stops, or van to hand at oil fields), and the pastimes are weed, alcohol, music, and nonjudgmental sex. Which is somehow mostly less depressing than you expect.

Given its episodic nature, not sure it profits from piling up 163 minutes worth of episodes, and I'm pretty sure it doesn't profit from the head-hammeringly obvious symbolism of the final scene, but it's a surprisingly friendly film.

Trailers

• Moonlight--All the buzz on this has been excellent.
• 20th Century Women--Gonna say something silly here, based on one look at the trailer: this could be Annette Bening's best work ever.
• Elle--Isabelle Huppert out for revenge, and my money's on her.
• Manchester by the Sea--Kenneth Lonergan: yes.
• Miss Sloane--Jessica Chastain as a lobbyist who steps on some powerful toes.