Movie

American Animals

2018 · 117 min

A tense, stylish docudrama that blurs truth and fiction, keeping you on edge with a mix of humor and regret.

Directed by: Bart Layton
Genres: Drama, Crime, Documentary
Starring: Evan Peters, Barry Keoghan, Blake Jenner

Tagline: Nobody wants to be ordinary.
Overview: Lexington, Kentucky, 2004. Four young men attempt to execute one of the most audacious art heists in the history of the United States.

Your rating is saved. See your suggestions, or find titles like this one below.

Rate it, and Mesmero finds titles that feel like it. You do not need an account.

Search YouTube for a trailer

Buy in the UK

Sky Store

More options Data from JustWatch

Directed by: Bart Layton
Genres: Drama, Crime, Documentary
Starring: Evan Peters, Barry Keoghan, Blake Jenner

In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone: tensestrength 2 of 3
satiricalstrength 2 of 3
melancholicstrength 2 of 3
earneststrength 1 of 3
Pacing: brisk, 3 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: identity
ambition
crime
betrayal
coming-of-age
Places: small town
school
big city
Era: contemporary
Audience: adult
Form: true story
unreliable narrator
nonlinear
Content intensity: Gore none
Language strong
Violence mild
Sex mild

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	4
Horror	1
Humour	5
Realism	8
Romance	1
Tension	7
Darkness	5
Complexity	7
Emotional weight	6

Titles like American Animals

Movie

The Imposter

2012

A slippery, unsettling true-crime puzzle that pulls you into a liar's world and keeps you guessing whom to believe.

Same writer: Bart Layton · Tense · about identity and crime · true story

Also: Same writer: Bart Layton
Via: tense
identity
crime
true story
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 99 min

Details

The ImposterHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Dog Day Afternoon

1975

A sweaty, claustrophobic pressure cooker that finds absurd comedy and raw pathos in a botched heist turned media circus.

Tense, satirical · about identity and crime · true story

Via: tense
satirical
identity
crime
true story
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 124 min

Details

Dog Day AfternoonHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

The Mastermind

2025

A quiet, wryly observed caper that drifts into a melancholy study of a man's unraveling, with a lived-in 1970s texture.

Melancholic · about identity and crime · true story

Via: melancholic
identity
crime
true story
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 110 min

Details

The MastermindHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Bad Genius

2017

A slick, propulsive caper that turns exam halls into heist set-pieces, buzzing with nerve-jangling suspense and a sharp sting of conscience.

Tense, satirical, brisk · about ambition and crime

Via: tense
satirical
ambition
crime
Pacing: brisk
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 130 min

Details

Bad GeniusHidden from your suggestions.

TV series

Money Heist

2017–2021

A high-stakes, emotionally charged thrill ride that keeps you on edge with its intricate plotting and intense character drama.

Tense · about betrayal · unreliable narrator

Via: tense
betrayal
unreliable narrator
Pacing: relentless
Attention: engaged
Seasons: 3

Details

Money HeistHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

The Town

2010

A tense, gritty crime drama that mixes hard-boiled heist action with a melancholy, doomed romance, all set in a working-class Boston enclave.

Tense, melancholic, brisk · about crime and betrayal

Via: tense
melancholic
crime
betrayal
Pacing: brisk
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 125 min

Details

The TownHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

2018

A wry, bittersweet character study of a prickly loner whose clever crimes feel oddly triumphant and quietly sad.

Satirical, melancholic · about identity and crime · true story

Via: satirical
melancholic
identity
crime
true story
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 106 min

Details

Can You Ever Forgive Me?Hidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Crime 101

2026

A sleek, sun-bleached cat-and-mouse game that glides along freeways, cool and controlled, with quiet loneliness humming under the polished heist mechanics.

Same director: Bart Layton · Tense · about crime and betrayal

Also: Same director: Bart Layton
Via: tense
crime
betrayal
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 141 min

Details

Crime 101Hidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Inside Man

2006

A slick, twisty heist thriller that keeps you guessing with sharp dialogue and a satisfying puzzle-box structure.

Tense, brisk · about crime

Via: tense
crime
Pacing: brisk
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 129 min

Details

Inside ManHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Adaptation

2002

A dizzying, funny, self-aware head-trip that keeps folding back on itself, mixing writer's block angst with sudden thriller swerves and a surprisingly tender finish.

Satirical, melancholic · about identity · unreliable narrator

Via: satirical
melancholic
identity
unreliable narrator
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 115 min

Details

AdaptationHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

The Killing

1956

A taut, fatalistic heist thriller that tightens like a noose, its clockwork plot and doomed characters leaving a bitter aftertaste.

Tense, brisk · about crime and betrayal · nonlinear

Via: tense
crime
betrayal
nonlinear
Pacing: brisk
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 85 min

Details

The KillingHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Close-Up

1990

A quiet, layered docufiction that blurs reality and performance, inviting patient reflection on identity and the movies we love.

Melancholic · about identity · true story

Via: melancholic
identity
true story
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 98 min

Details

Close-UpHidden from your suggestions.

Where to watch in the UK

Buy

Sky Store

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres: drama, crime, documentary
Directed by: Bart Layton
Written by: Bart Layton
Starring: Evan Peters, Barry Keoghan, Blake Jenner, Jared Abrahamson, Ann Dowd, Gary Basaraba, Udo Kier, Wayne Duvall
Music: Anne Nikitin
Cinematography: Ole Bratt Birkeland
Runtime: 117 min
Country: United Kingdom, United States of America
Languages: English

TMDB IMDb Letterboxd Wikipedia Wikidata

Something wrong on this page? Tell us.

American Animals

How it feels

More like this

Titles like American Animals

Where to watch in the UK

Details