American Fable

Pretty great directorial effort going on here. The rural Midwest is made to look beautiful and horror-tinged at the same time, wonderful nature shots, creating an unsettling and foreboding atmosphere. Can't fault Hamilton, who interned for Malick and it shows. But the script is wonky; the mysterious figure on horseback adds zilch, the little girls' bro Martin is needlessly hostile from the beginning, and the internal logic is flaky, forcing drama. Comes across as too scripted, not organic.

This is a mysterious, dark (spooky) and part fantasy based film. Most of the film has a yellow tinge, which helps give it a bright and artificial feel somehow. I thought the actress Peyton Kennedy, who plays the main character, Gitty, gave a particularly good performance. There's some interesting & thoughtful dialogue and it has good use of background music/sounds. The family dynamics element I found particularly intriguing. I thought that overall, its a decently made film, which I'd recommend.

Interesting movie combining compelling and realistic drama with a young girl's imagination. Also focuses on the plight of the American farmer.

This film has a lot of flaws, but I could forgive nearly every one of them if the brother had been written as a character and not a plot device.

American Fable is a solid debut that looks absolutely stunning. While the mood is captured well, the acting and screenplay are often pretty rough to get through. Still, this is a nice little midwestern fairy tale.

Intriguing drama/thriller too often at odds with itself tonally, whiplashing between grounded, realistic drama and more abstract, fantastical fairytale elements. Characterisations vary wildly too, at the whims of the story and plotting - is the man in the silo really there? If he is, is he a willing prisoner etc. However, the terrific performances all around help keep the film involving, and Kennedy's completely grounded, naturalistic performance ranks amongst the best child performances.

worth a watch