Americana review lands with mixed verdict

A stylish crime thriller struggles to merge its ambition with a cohesive story.

Americana review finds style yet falls short

Americana, written and directed by Tony Tost, unfolds in five chapters across a South Dakota town. A prized Lakota Ghost Shirt drives the plot as thieves and self-styled rebels race to claim it, pulling in a diner waitress with big dreams, a wary veteran, and a determined Indigenous resistance leader. The cast threads together a web of motives, with the theft staged amid tense, blood-soaked moments that underline the film’s predilection for violence and punchy dialogue.

The film looks handsome and benefits from strong performances, especially Sydney Sweeney and Paul Walter Hauser. Their chemistry helps in quieter moments, even as the narrative relies on twists that feel artificial and a finale that overstays its welcome. Some quirks—Penny Jo’s stammer and Lefty’s offbeat marriage proposals—read as gimmicks more than character traits. While Americana aims to channel a Tarantino–Coen Brothers vibe, the execution often slips, leaving the viewer with a stylish but messy experience.

Tony Tost tries a high wire act, blending crime thriller chic with Indigenous themes and a fragmented, chaptered structure. The ambition is clear: make the artifact at the story’s center feel like a character in its own right, and let a varied cast collide in a collision of greed and memory. Yet the script sometimes trips over its own cleverness, and the plot twists rarely land with the precision they promise. The real heat comes from the performances; Sweeney and Hauser keep the film human even when the storytelling falters. The film’s handling of Lakota symbolism is respectful in tone but too often serves as decorative ballast rather than a driving force.

In the end Americana tests the line between style and substance. It flashes genuine inventiveness but never quite taps its full potential. The movie may find a niche audience among fans of offbeat thrillers, while sparking conversations about memory, heritage, and the price of spectacle.

Highlights

Ambition has a price and Americana pays a curious one.