History Film / AmericanAnimals

** BJ Gooch recalled Warren or Eric threatening to hurt her if she didn't keep quiet, while in the film Warren apologizes and assures her that they're only after the books.

** BJ Gooch recalled Warren or Eric threatening to hurt her if she didn'tkeep quiet, while in the film Warren apologizes and assures her that they're only after the books.

The cast includes Creator/EvanPeters as Warren Lipka, Creator/BarryKeoghan as Spencer Reinhard, Creator/BlakeJenner as Chas Allen, and Creator/JaredAbrahamson as Eric Borsuk.

!!Tropes

* SpiritualSuccessor: This film splits the difference between Layton's first film ''Film/TheImposter2012'' (a documentary) and a purely dramatic film. They're both about a real crime, feature talking head interviews from the real people involved, include at least one UnreliableNarrator, and leave lingering questions about what really occurred.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: The film glosses over some of the less savory aspects of the perpetrators' lives and crime. BJ Gooch recalled Warren or Eric threatening to hurt her, where in the film Warren apologizes and assures her that they're only after the books. The film also does not mention ''how'' Warren has criminal connections: He and Eric participated in an identity theft ring, which is what caused the falling out between him and Eric and is why Eric agreed to another criminal enterprise so easily.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: The guys have a daydream fantasy of pulling off the heist with the casual expertise of typical Hollywood thieves. And the film for a while plays along with the concept of how easy such a job is, as long as they form a plan and follow through it. The actual theft goes about as wrong as possible: [[spoiler:they fail to knock out the librarian and immediately start panicking; they fail to account for where the key to the storage cases is kept; they fail to account for how ''heavy'' the books are; they fail to adequately scout their escape route, leading them to a dead end; they don't adequately cover their tracks (e.g. using their ''personal'' email addresses and telephone numbers); and ''vastly'' underestimate how quickly and easily they can fence the stolen goods]].

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: The guys have a daydream fantasy of pulling off the heist with the casual expertise of typical Hollywood thieves. And the film for a while plays along with the concept of how easy such job is, as long as they form a plan and follow through it. The actual theft goes about as wrong as possible: [[spoiler:they fail to knock out the librarian and immediately start panicking; they fail to account for where the key to the storage cases is kept; they fail to account for how ''heavy'' the books are; they fail to adequately scout their escape route, leading them to a dead end; they don't adequately cover their tracks (e.g. using their ''personal'' email addresses and telephone numbers); and ''vastly'' underestimate how quickly and easily they can fence the stolen goods]].

-->'''Spencer''': Sure. Let's just walk in there in broad daylight and rob the place. Oh, yeah, while... while you're at it, you're gonna dynamite the canteen, right?

* DeadpanSnarker: Spencer has a couple moments, especially when he's interacting with Warren. Helps that he's played by Creator/BarryKeoghan
-->''Spencer'': Sure. Let's just walk in there in broad daylight and rob the place. Oh, yeah, while... while you're at it, you're gonna dynamite the canteen, right?

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: The guys have a daydream fantasy of them pulling off the heist with the casual expertise of typical Hollywood thieves. And the film for a while plays along with the concept of how easy such job is, as long as they form a plan and follow through it. The actual theft goes about as wrong as possible despite still getting the loot, from scheduling mishaps to misjudging the escape route to the difficulties of "neutralizing" an innocent bystander (both physically and morally) and, above all, not accounting for the idea that the bigger the theft [[spoiler: appraisal firms will be more suspicious of valuable items showing up]].

* GenreSavvy: Warren and Spencer take points from several heist films in order to plan their own heist.
* GoToAlias: At several points in the film, Warren uses the alias "Walter Beckman."

''American Animals'' is a 2018 heist film written and directed by Burt Layton (''Film/TheImposter2012''). The story dramatizes an actual theft of several valuable books from the library of Transylvania University in Kentucky by four college students. Throughout the film, interviews with the real perpetrators and their families provide commentary on the action as it unfolds.

* RealityEnsues: The guys have a daydream fantasy of them pulling off the heist with the casual expertise of typical Hollywood thieves. The actual theft goes about as wrong as possible despite still getting the loot, from scheduling mishaps to misjudging the escape route to the difficulties of "neutralizing" an innocent bystander (both physically and morally) and, above all, not accounting for the idea that the bigger the theft [[spoiler: appraisal firms will be more suspicious of valuable items showing up]].

* SpiritualSuccessor: This film splits the difference between Layton's first film ''Film/TheImposter'' (a documentary) and a purely dramatic film. They're both about a real crime, feature talking head interviews from the real people involved, include at least one UnreliableNarrator, and leave lingering questions about what really occurred.

''American Animals'' is a 2018 heist film written and directed by Burt Layton (''Film/TheImposter''). The story dramatizes an actual theft of several valuable books from the library of Transylvania University in Kentucky by four college students. Throughout the film, interviews with the real perpetrators and their families provide commentary on the action as it unfolds.