American Made (2017) in one word: Cruise-control

Rating: 6/10 (24 October 2017)

American Made begins with the familiar text, "Based on a true story." Movies based on true stories, which are not vetted by any type of historical regulatory agency to my knowledge, often end with a prologue containing additional historical information about the subjects. Photographs of the real-life individuals are sometimes shown on screen at this point in the film. There are no such photographs in this film. I took this as a sign that the real Barry Seal, a DEA informant and drug smuggler, didn't bear much resemblance to the actor portraying him, Tom Cruise. A post-credits image search confirmed this suspicion. Doug Liman, director, addressed this, saying, "Tom Cruise doesn't look like Barry Seal. His character is inspired by the stories we learned about Barry. " He added, "You know, we're not making a biopic." Unfettered by history, writer Gary Spinelli was free to tailor the story for Cruise, and in this he was successful.
In Top Gun, Cruise plays a handsome, cocky, talented pilot. In American Made, Cruise plays a handsome, cocky, talented, drug and arms trafficking pilot. It feels familiar, but it's a good "seeing an old friend" familiar. Cruise is at his best when he is somewhat frantic, and there is a lot of frantic in this film. In fact, frantic is likely the best word to describe the camera-work here. Cinematographer CÃ©sar Charlone (City of God) zooms in and out with the speed and erraticism of an octogenarian photographing a grandchild at graduation. Seal is always moving, and the camera rushes to keep up with him. As cash continues to roll in, Barry Seal frenetically searches for an empty closet, a fresh piece of ground, but to no avail. There is plentiful comedy in the ineptitude of Seal, because he isn't entirely inept. At times he is shrewd and scheming, adept at evading his enemies. But, the true comedy and tragedy are in the excess, the scale of Seal's operation. The mere existence of such a "business" and the associated connections, if not only tenuous, to the U.S. government is laughably inconceivable.
Seal's recorded confessions serve as plot perpetuators, interspersed among the action. This is an effective plot device, and the achieved feel of the home videos is authentic and somewhat endearing. Sarah Wright, as Seal's wife Lucy, provides a lukewarm contrast to her husband's mostly unwarranted confidence. She repeatedly declares her distrust for Seal, but brushes aside all concerns once sufficient funds have been brought home. Her patience could exist only in the imagination of Seal, who, in reality, married three times. But again, this is not a film about reality. Suspending history, it is a thoroughly entertaining, energetic romp that capitalizes on the strong points of its male lead.
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