2016 Cannes Critics’ Panel Day 5: Arnold’s “American Honey” Features Two-Lane Bluetop

With the exception of Wuthering Heights, Andrea Arnold has stamped her presence all over the Croisette and has been heavily rewarded for her works: both 2006’s Red Road and 2009’s Fish Tank have claimed the Jury Prize. Lovers are gonna love and the haters are gonna hate, her third trip appears to not left many folks indifferent. With a fierce performance from newbie Sasha Lane, Variety’s Guy Lodge mentions that “Arnold has found a transatlantic twin to Mia Williams, the chipped-enamel heroine of 2009’s “Fish Tank,” while The Guardian has found familiarity not only in dp Robbie Ryan’s excellent work, stating that “the emotional tension and possible political satire and social commentary are all suspended in a great deal of sunlit ambient moodscaping and no particular place to go”. Starring a mix of non-professional actors and seasoned pros, Lane, Riley Keough, Shia LaBeouf, McCaul Lombardi and Arielle Holmes are the main make-up of the cast, our Nicholas Bell calls this Arnold effort “less of a departure and more of an interesting linear maneuver for the director.”