This film was true crime in a different light. I went in expecting something vastly different but was pleasantly surprised at the pace of the film and the unexpected thrill from the shenanigans of kids I wasnt sure I wanted to hug or sternly lecture.

Riveting, compelling, undoubtedly one of summers gratest films. Truly a masterpiece.

AMAZING!!!!! Best movie all year. I loved every minute of it.

Stands out from a traditional documentary and much better than just "another exciting heist movie. Can really appreciate the way the director left the take away up to you. they didn't glorify the guys involved and the interviews really made you feel the realness. Very intense film, acting was beautifully done and something unique.

American Animals is a thrilling heist movie that brings the viewer into the making of a robbery, from the idea's inception all the way through to the final result. Unlike many heist movies, the perpetrators are no suave con men, international spies, or security systems specialists. Instead, these would-be art thieves are college kids who had a late-night idea (fueled by a joint or two) and let it roll too far to stop. Although the thieves are no altruistic angels- the robbery is all for personal gain- I found myself sympathizing with their sense of listlessness, disillusionment, and urge to find out what is on the other side of a 12-million-dollar heist. Peppered with interviews delivered by the actual thieves themselves, and a contradicting story or two, Peters and Keoghan expertly lead a cinematic renditioning of the trials and tribulations of orchestrating one of the nation's most notorious art-theft cases. This movie is certainly worth a night at the theater and, with so many interwoven pieces, perhaps even a second time around.

Crazy story that you can't make up. think Layton is on his way to great things

A great movie giving many different looks from different viewpoints of characters. Has something for everyone! Great work!

... conceived and executed on a much higher level than the outrageous true-life criminal scheme it depicts.

Perhaps the greatest trick up its sleeve is how deftly it weaves together different genres.

Confusing? Not a bit. Writer/director Bart Layton employs all the tricks in the docufiction playbook...[to] create a uniquely tricky heist flick and he makes sure the audience can keep up.

The state the film produces in its viewers - or in this one, at least - is something like muted dread coupled with weary amusement.

An innovative hybrid of documentary and heist flick.

American Animals is one fact-based heist frolic with a youthful slant that works in spite of itself.

The holes in the script are a pesky issue, but filmmaker Bart Layton's blend of recreations and real-life participants commenting on the action gives this true-crime comedy an edge.

Layton's movie is slick, perhaps a little too slick at times (compositions are sometimes too studied), but the filmmaker is talented...Interviews with real subjects are seamlessly edited into the fictionalized action.