American Animal (2011)

A terminally-ill man descends into madness when he learns his best friend and roommate is leaving for a new job in the morning.

Director:

Matt D'Elia

Writer:

Matt D'Elia

Stars:

Matt D'Elia, Brendan Fletcher, Mircea Monroe

Cast

Cast overview:
Matt D'Elia	...	Jimmy
Brendan Fletcher	...	James
Mircea Monroe	...	Blonde Angela
Angela Sarafyan	...	Not Blonde Angela

Storyline

Jimmy is a terminally ill young man. But from today on, he has decided that he is 'happy', and that he is no longer sick. Jimmy's roommate James is a healthy, dreamy young man. They're best friends. They live together. They don't do much of anything, and seem very happy that way. But trouble arises when James announces that he will be leaving for his new job in the morning. Jimmy sees this as the destruction of the perfect little world that they've set up, and what ensues is a humorous battle of wills as James heads towards the real world and Jimmy falls deeper and deeper into his isolated world of illness and make-believe.

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Plot Keywords:

male nudity | male frontal nudity

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Taglines:

Some of us evolve slower than others.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexuality, graphic nudity, pervasive language and some drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 March 2011 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Moving Pictures, AWOL Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Netflix and iTunes versions of the film have been censored to obtain an 'R' rating from the MPAA. The original cut (which is director Matt D'Elia's original and only cut of the film) was rated 'NC-17'. D'Elia's original version is the cut that was released in theaters. As of now, the only way to view D'Elia's original version is to view the DVD, which contains the original, uncensored, NC-17 version.

User Reviews

American Animal

AA was definitely an experience... One of the most unique art films I've seen. At times it reminded a lot of American Psycho and Requiem for a Dream. Some parts seemed a little over the top and melodramatic but overall I thought it was a very interesting and well done film. It was also interesting to make the connections with the various movie nods within the film itself (for example: Gangs of New York).

Whenever I consider writing a screenplay I always want it to center around a main character whose mental health is questionable but he can't be called outright crazy, I think that the writer/director/star Matt D'elia did a superb job of it in the film and it made for a very entertaining and layered story that seemed somewhat one dimensional at first.