Americana

There is something engaging about a young boy Cal (Gavin Maddox Bergman) who has clearly watched too many old westerns and sees himself as the incarnation of Sitting Bull.

That does melt away after he shoots his father in the neck with an arrow, who had just recovered from being knocked out by his mother, who then sped away with a valuable native American relic.

It's one of the quirks that runs through Americana as odd characters are introduced into a complex timeline that shifts about until it comes to the inevitable shoot out, for said relic.

Written and directed by Tony Tost, there is an element of Tarantino here with the dialogue, twists and set ups. So there’s Lonely Lefty (Paul Walter Hauser) who has his proposal ready for a woman he’s only dated on a few occasions. Knocked back he finds some solace with the stammering Penny Jo (Sydney Sweeny) who has her own problems with her family.

Overhearing a conversation between villains who are plotting to steal the relic, sets Lefty and Penny Jo on a collision course with said villains, Native Americans who want the relic and Cal’s mother Mandy (Halsey) who has returned to her father and his strict patriarchal cult in a heavily armed compound.

There are a lot of characters in Americana, but it doesn’t feel cluttered as it moves at a brisk pace, with outbursts of violence. It also quite funny at times, bleakly so as in the cult headquarters where the male members lose all sense of priorities while under siege.

To a certain extent the relic is just a MacGuffin that enables Tost to explore elements of rural America, small-town life, and the inhabitants. The pressures that they are under, some of which are very relatable.

The acting is such that there’s a fair amount of empathy created for the more vulnerable characters, who find themselves ways over their heads.

Americana will be available on digital platforms from 22 September 2025.