Randy Seems like most viewers are disturbed and offended by the main character Jimmy.Jimmy as a character is *supposed* to bother you.His wild and offensive nature is written to show you how deeply you're unwilling to let yourself live fully and truly to yourself.He says it himself in the last 30 minutes, but I suspect people just watch the movie as being about "some other guys in an apartment" and have no capacity to see art as a reflection to question their own lives.I feel that this movie was written from the "cutting edge" of what's *actually going on* in the world today, beneath surface appearances. It shines a brilliant spotlight on what, in my humble opinion, are some of the defining questions of this day and age: What do we do with this incredible opportunity that being alive in the 21st century affords us?If you were dying of a terminal illness (hint: you already are), and had all your basic needs accounted for (hint: you already do), what would you do with your life? Would you want to dance around your apartment alone and naked like Jimmy? If so, is that what you *really* would want?Would you want to "give back" by joining the workforce like Jimmy's roommate? If so, is that what you *really* would want?While watching this movie it's a good idea to put yourself in Jimmy's shoes rather than having a kneejerk reaction of seeing him as "just some crazy guy", while having the also-kneejerk reaction of seeing his roommate as "the sane one". Thank you Matt D'Elia for what you did here.

eriksouthey In the low-budget indy genre, a lot can be forgiven, less than perfect acting, rough effects, poor lighting, touchy at times sound, shaky camera-work, all sorts of things can be overlooked if need be, but the cardinal sin is overwrought, uninspired, navel gazing writing. Jesus Christ, man, you're going to spend thousands of dollars because you have a story to tell, and THIS is it? Perhaps, one should consider that just because we can, doesn't always mean we should. If I had to use one word to describe this film, I think I'd go with, 'wasteful.' Not like, it wasted time (which it did) but like the fact that it was made is a wasted of time, money, resources, storage space on someone's macbook pro, and in their hard drive, needless hours of use on a poor poor camera that had to sit through the whole thing for god knows how long. Jesus. Just, Jesus.

Eric Wolfe Words like "wild" and "madness" are cliché, but there's really no other way to describe American Animal. Just like Jimmy's (Matt D'Elia) more straight-laced roommate James struggles to voice his own concerns, ambitions, and feelings in the face of Jimmy's relentless energy; it's hard to describe the film as anything other than completely mad. Ultimately this is what made it so challenging at times, but also so engaging. This is no holds-barred madness that refuses to be channeled in a single vein, and the film jumps from one bizarre scene to the next; each a different manifestation of Jimmy's deranged psyche brought to life. Jimmy is Fight Club's Tyler Durden reinvented; half as violent and twice as zany, obsessed with Hollywood actors and costumes instead of Project Mayhem and underground boxing. But like Tyler Durden, Jimmy fights what he perceives to be the conformist indoctrination of the masses with his own extreme doctrine and is mercilessly intolerant of his friends' more "normal" views. He leaps before he looks. He acts, then asks for forgiveness, or doesn't. The film drags and is at times overly dramatic, but the whole thing builds and builds until it spirals out of control. It offers some severe gut-checks amidst the chaos, offering clarity in the confusion, and it gives the film the uncompromising point it searches for.

nickorris67 American Animal was a very unique film. This piece pushes the boundaries on what we are familiar with seeing. In an almost Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas atmosphere, Writer/Director/Star Matt D'Alia takes you for a wild ride through anything that crosses his mind. Matt stars as Jimmy, the dying son of rich parents who lives with his best friend in a high rise apartment. This apartment ends up being the only environment Matt needs to give you a visual tour you won't forget. With a great use of framing, Matt visually shows you the character dynamics between the only four characters you see: Jimmy, his roommate James, Blonde Angela and Not Blonde Angela. The women end up being pawns that Jimmy (Matt) uses to drive home some points, and show the differences in their characters. James, played by Brenden Fletcher, wants to finally branch out of the imaginary playland their apartment is for them and make an attempt to affect the outside world. Jimmy is much more concerned with releasing the internal world that now has free reign over the external world. Where James begins to see their apartment as isolated and hindering, Jimmy sees it as the apex zone for the animal's desire to rule reality, the ultimate American dream. Having no worries, no needs that aren't filled, Jimmy decides to take his desires to the extreme, which are relatively simple and rather animalistic. In an explosive scene between James and Jimmy, Jimmy explains how incredible he feels his opportunity at life really is, considering all the men and animals that worked so hard for him to have this opportunity to express his pure self freely with no chains attached. In a very telling statement Jimmy(Matt) says "I am scared of nothing, I think that's why they are scared of me, they see I am not scared, and that scares them." Not afraid of being who you want to be, free expression of what you are, an animal. Just see what Jimmy decides to do while James is at work.