American Made: Film Review

American Made: Film Review

Cast: Tom Cruise, Domhnall Gleeson, Sarah Wright, Caleb Landry Jones, Jesse Plemons
Director: Doug Liman

Tom Cruise packs on the charm in this hybrid of the recent War Dogs and Narcos which is based on a true story.

American Made: Film Review

Cruise stars as Barry Seal, a TWA pilot in the late 70s who's so bored with work, he deliberately causes turbulence to amuse and irritate in equal measure. Spotted running contraband by CIA spook Schafer (Domhnall Gleeson), he's offered to come work for the good guys.

Recruited as a reconnaisance pilot snapping pictures of Central America, Seal is soon inducted into both sides of the conflict after being spotted by Pablo Escobar's rising cartel. Shot down and offered the chance to run drugs from Colombia into the US, Seal soon finds himself entangled and playing both sides for plentiful fiscal reward.

But Seal's life is further complicated when he's forced to run guns into Nicaragua at Schafer's behest after being busted with the drugs...

Dialling down the mega-watt grin and over-enthusiasm plays greatly to American Made's charm and ensures that the unfolding story of a man trapped in his own bastardisation of the American dream.

Sure, Seal knows what he's doing and there's no Sopranos-esque anti-hero at play here - and Cruise and his returning Edge of Tomorrow director Liman are smart enough to know that holding back and concentrating on the apparently true story is the way to go with this piece.

Packing in adegree of incredulity and playing matters straight as well as threading in news reports from the time give the film a shaggy dog edge that's ripped straight from the pages of the "It's so crazy it couldn't be true."

However, it also helps that Cruise never once feels like he's acting, imbuing Seal with a degree of humanity and vulnerability as he finds himself ingratiated in the world within.

While it's fair to say some of the surrounding edges never quite rise as perhaps they are hinted at earlier on (the local sheriff, the hillbilly wastrel brother-in-law) when the action of American Made concentrates on cruise's Seal and the tightening vice of his amoral attitude the film's more than a pleasant surprise.

It's very much a romp, brought to life with the breath of its lead actor and the seamless energy of its direction - and it may actually surprise you as it weaves its tale of criminally-led derring do.

Above all, it will remind you of the sheer charisma and power of Tom Cruise when he's not over-performing.

If anything, dialling it down and playing the role to hand instead of anything more packs American Made with a tremendous coke-fuelled joie de vivre and reason to view it.