''Americana'' is a 2023 American
crime thriller
Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...
film written and directed by
Tony Tost
Tony Tost (born 1975) is an American film director, poet, critic and screenwriter. He is the creator, executive producer, and showrunner of ''Damnation'', a neo-western period drama about the labor wars in America during the 1930s that aired on US ...
. It stars
Sydney Sweeney
Sydney Bernice Sweeney (born September 12, 1997) is an American actress. She first gained attention in 2018 for appearing in the television series '' Everything Sucks!'' and ''The Handmaid's Tale'', and in the limited series '' Sharp Objects'' ...
,
Paul Walter Hauser
Paul Walter Hauser (born October 15, 1986) is an American actor and wrestler. He is best known for his portrayal of Stingray in the Netflix series ''Cobra Kai'' and providing the voice of Embarrassment in Pixar's ''Inside Out 2'' (2024). He pla ...
,
Halsey,
Eric Dane
Eric William Dane (born November 9, 1972) is an American actor. After multiple television roles in the 1990s and 2000s, which included his recurring role as Jason Dean in ''Charmed'', Dane was cast as Mark Sloan (Grey's Anatomy), Mark Sloan on ' ...
,
Zahn McClarnon
Zahn Tokiya-ku McClarnon is a Native American actor. Since 2022, he has played the lead role of Joe Leaphorn in the AMC series ''Dark Winds'', of which he is also an executive producer.
He first came to prominence with key supporting performanc ...
, and
Simon Rex
Simon Rex Cutright (born July 20, 1974), known professionally as Simon Rex and his stage name Dirt Nasty, is an American actor and rapper. Rising to fame as an MTV VJ, Rex later became an actor known for '' What I Like About You'', starring i ...
.
It had its world premiere at
South by Southwest
South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
on March 17, 2023, and it is scheduled to release on August 22, 2025. It received generally positive reviews from critics.
Plot
Numerous people find their lives intertwined in a death match while fighting over an expensive
ghost shirt
Ghost shirts are shirts, or other clothing items, worn by members of the Ghost Dance religion, and thought to be imbued with spiritual powers. The religion was founded by Wovoka (Jack Wilson), a Northern Paiute Native American, in the late 19th c ...
.
Cast
*
Sydney Sweeney
Sydney Bernice Sweeney (born September 12, 1997) is an American actress. She first gained attention in 2018 for appearing in the television series '' Everything Sucks!'' and ''The Handmaid's Tale'', and in the limited series '' Sharp Objects'' ...
as Penny Jo Poplin
*
Paul Walter Hauser
Paul Walter Hauser (born October 15, 1986) is an American actor and wrestler. He is best known for his portrayal of Stingray in the Netflix series ''Cobra Kai'' and providing the voice of Embarrassment in Pixar's ''Inside Out 2'' (2024). He pla ...
as Lefty Ledbetter
*
Halsey as Mandy Starr
*
Eric Dane
Eric William Dane (born November 9, 1972) is an American actor. After multiple television roles in the 1990s and 2000s, which included his recurring role as Jason Dean in ''Charmed'', Dane was cast as Mark Sloan (Grey's Anatomy), Mark Sloan on ' ...
as Dillon MacIntosh
*
Zahn McClarnon
Zahn Tokiya-ku McClarnon is a Native American actor. Since 2022, he has played the lead role of Joe Leaphorn in the AMC series ''Dark Winds'', of which he is also an executive producer.
He first came to prominence with key supporting performanc ...
as Ghost Eye
* Gavin Maddox Bergman as Cal Starr
*
Simon Rex
Simon Rex Cutright (born July 20, 1974), known professionally as Simon Rex and his stage name Dirt Nasty, is an American actor and rapper. Rising to fame as an MTV VJ, Rex later became an actor known for '' What I Like About You'', starring i ...
as Roy Lee Dean
* Derek Hinkey as Hank Spears
*
Toby Huss
Tobias Huss (born December 9, 1966) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Artie in the Nickelodeon series '' The Adventures of Pete & Pete'' (1993–1996). He is also known for his voice-over work on the long-running animated series ''K ...
as Pendleton Duvall
*
Harriet Sansom Harris
Harriet Sansom Harris (born January 8, 1955) is an American actress known for her theater performances and for her portrayals of Bebe Glazer on ''Frasier'' and Felicia Tilman on ''Desperate Housewives''.
Harris won a Tony Award in 2002 as a Fe ...
as Tish
*
Donald Cerrone
Donald Anthony Cerrone (born March 29, 1983), known professionally by his nickname "Cowboy", is an American former professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer, and actor. He competed in the Lightweight and Welterweight divisions of the Ultima ...
as Sheriff Cole Pickering
Production
In February 2022,
Sydney Sweeney
Sydney Bernice Sweeney (born September 12, 1997) is an American actress. She first gained attention in 2018 for appearing in the television series '' Everything Sucks!'' and ''The Handmaid's Tale'', and in the limited series '' Sharp Objects'' ...
,
Paul Walter Hauser
Paul Walter Hauser (born October 15, 1986) is an American actor and wrestler. He is best known for his portrayal of Stingray in the Netflix series ''Cobra Kai'' and providing the voice of Embarrassment in Pixar's ''Inside Out 2'' (2024). He pla ...
,
Halsey,
Simon Rex
Simon Rex Cutright (born July 20, 1974), known professionally as Simon Rex and his stage name Dirt Nasty, is an American actor and rapper. Rising to fame as an MTV VJ, Rex later became an actor known for '' What I Like About You'', starring i ...
, Gavin Maddox Bergman,
Harriet Sansom Harris
Harriet Sansom Harris (born January 8, 1955) is an American actress known for her theater performances and for her portrayals of Bebe Glazer on ''Frasier'' and Felicia Tilman on ''Desperate Housewives''.
Harris won a Tony Award in 2002 as a Fe ...
, Derek Hinkey,
Eric Dane
Eric William Dane (born November 9, 1972) is an American actor. After multiple television roles in the 1990s and 2000s, which included his recurring role as Jason Dean in ''Charmed'', Dane was cast as Mark Sloan (Grey's Anatomy), Mark Sloan on ' ...
,
Zahn McClarnon
Zahn Tokiya-ku McClarnon is a Native American actor. Since 2022, he has played the lead role of Joe Leaphorn in the AMC series ''Dark Winds'', of which he is also an executive producer.
He first came to prominence with key supporting performanc ...
and
Donald Cerrone
Donald Anthony Cerrone (born March 29, 1983), known professionally by his nickname "Cowboy", is an American former professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer, and actor. He competed in the Lightweight and Welterweight divisions of the Ultima ...
joined the cast of the film, then titled ''National Anthem'', with
Tony Tost
Tony Tost (born 1975) is an American film director, poet, critic and screenwriter. He is the creator, executive producer, and showrunner of ''Damnation'', a neo-western period drama about the labor wars in America during the 1930s that aired on US ...
directing from a screenplay he wrote.
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
began in February 2022, in
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
.
Release
''Americana'' had its world premiere at the
2023 South by Southwest Film & TV Festival
The 2023 South by Southwest Film & TV Festival took place from March 10 to 19 at several venues in Austin, Texas, as part of the larger South by Southwest annual event. The film program opened with fantasy heist comedy film '' Dungeons & Dragons: ...
on March 17, 2023. In March 2024,
Lionsgate Lions Gate, Lion Gate or similar terms may refer to:
Gates
*Lion Gate at Mycenae in Greece
*Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the ancient Hittite city of Hattusa, now in Turkey
*Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the gardens of Hampton Court Pala ...
acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film.
It is scheduled to be released on August 22, 2025.
Reception
On review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
,
100% of 7 critics' reviews are positive.
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 85 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
For ''
Deadline
Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to:
* Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished
Arts, entertainment, and media Comics
* Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain
* ''Deadline'' (magazine), a Britis ...
'', Valerie Complex wrote, "Tost's direction manages to avoid the common pitfalls first-time directors encounter by overcomplicating things, but the director keeps it simple by letting characters work within their frame. ... This movie wouldn't be what it is without its rich and enjoyable cast — with Halsey and McClarnon being the standouts — of individuals who are determined, intelligent, uproarious and have different ideas of success and how to achieve it." Rafael Motamayor of ''
IndieWire'' gave it a B+, writing, "The film is clearly a homage to the
esterngenre and all its sides, both good and bad. The director shoots the vast arid landscapes and secluded rural roads of middle America with a melancholic eye, capturing the iconography of the genre while contemplating whether it still has a place in cinema today. With a film like this now in its arsenal, it surely does."
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, 17676734
2023 films
2023 crime thriller films
2023 directorial debut films
2020s American films
2020s English-language films
American crime thriller films
Bron Studios films
English-language crime thriller films
Films scored by David Fleming (composer)
Films shot in New Mexico
Lionsgate films