REVIEW: American Made

Courtesy of Universal

Tom Cruise’s last few non-Mission: Impossible action movies have fizzled at the box office and he’s been AARP-eligible for five years, two facts that have led me to wonder what the next stage of the actor’s career will look like. If his latest film, American Made (not to be confused with the terrible American Assassin, which opened two weeks ago), is any indication, I’m eager to watch him reinvent the onscreen persona audiences have come to anticipate.

Don’t get me wrong: all the trademark Cruise elements are present in this story of an airline pilot who’s recruited by the CIA and eventually uses his position to become one of the world’s biggest drug smugglers. Cocky swagger? Check. Million-dollar smile? Check. Unbridled enthusiasm? Check. Total commitment to the role? Check.

However, Cruise and director Doug Liman (teaming up again after their critically acclaimed partnership on Edge of Tomorrow) use those expectations against the audience in bold, subversive fashion. They cash in our goodwill for the actor to make us root for an amoral scumbag who’s in way over his head and clueless about the danger involved. When you strip away his posturing and excuses, he has no qualms about risking his family’s safety for the sake of his ego and a ton of money.

Still, Cruise’s inherent charisma means you can’t help but like the guy – even as his lack of scruples renders you slack-jawed. It’s unquestionably one the actor’s best performances in years (perhaps since his back-to-back powerhouse work in Collateral and War of the Worlds) and I hope it leads to a Paul Newman-style career evolution.

Loosely based on a true story, Cruise plays Barry Seal, a TWA pilot who spices up his mundane job by smuggling Cuban cigars out of Canada for homesick immigrants in America. This low-level crime catches the attention of a slimy CIA operative (Domhnall Gleeson), who recruits Barry to put his flying skills to use for “the greater good.”

Now, instead of chauffeuring jetlagged tourists and businessmen, he’s taking reconnaissance photos of cocaine operations in Central America. Eventually, he’s approached by the Medellin Cartel, who talks him into supplementing his income by smuggling their product into America during his flights. Soon, Barry’s at the heart of the Iran-Contra affair, playing all sides against each other and turning it into a lifestyle so lavish that he’s having trouble finding new places to hide cash.

Of course, if you’ve seen a crime movie before (whether it’s Goodfellas, Blow, American Gangster or countless others), you know that the inevitable “rise and fall” arc means the first hour is a blast and the second hour is when things fall apart. Fortunately, Cruise, Liman and screenwriter Gary Spinelli do something innovative with the template.

Rather than structuring the narrative as two distinct parts and allowing for the usual tonal shifts that accompany them, the entire movie plays as one giant fall from grace. The audience knows the logical endpoint for this character (especially when heavy hitters like Pablo Escobar, Oliver North and Ronald Reagan enter the picture), so the movie approaches Barry’s dilemma as a cynical, ultra-dark comedy – an absurd nightmare he brings on himself.

That’s where Cruise’s star power comes in. Usually, audiences interpret the actor’s machismo and self-assurance as a guarantee that the guy he’s portraying will find his way out of any predicament, no matter how hopeless it may seem. In American Made, however, these strengths become massive character flaws – Barry is so full of himself that he’s incapable of understanding how this will probably end for him.

The film is also bolstered by a terrific supporting cast. It’s Cruise’s show, so the other characters aren’t as well developed, but it’s still a blast to watch actors like Gleeson, Sarah Wright Olsen (as Barry’s put-upon wife), Caleb Landry Jones (as Barry’s sleazy, redneck brother-in-law), Jesse Plemons (in a tiny role as a small town sheriff) and Jayma Mays (as a frustrated state attorney) work their magic.

Jones, in particular, has a magnetic screen presence, evoking the white trash, Kalifornia era of Brad Pitt’s career. He played an eerily similar role in Get Out earlier this year, however, so I’m hoping to see him branch out before he gets typecast.

This has been an unusually robust September at the box office thanks to crowd-pleasers like IT, Kingsman: The Golden Circle and Battle of the Sexes (playing in limited release), as well as divisive conversation starters like mother! (which I still need to see). It’s nice to see the early fall season finish strong with American Made.

If audiences give it a chance (no guarantee after Cruise’s big misfire The Mummy back in June), this one has the potential to hit big and mark an exciting new chapter in the filmography of one of the world’s biggest movie stars.

American Made is rated R for language throughout and some sexuality/nudity.

Grade: B+