HOT CORN TV – Bart Layton and Barry Keoghan on American Animals

The ‘it was supposed to be so easy’ narrative is one that has so often illuminated cinema, and does so to triumphant effect in Bart Layton’s American Animals. We had the pleasure of sitting down with the filmmaker (The Imposter) alongside the film’s leading man Barry Keoghan (The Killing Of A Sacred Deer) to discuss what it was about this tale that compelled them both to tell it. They discuss the protagonist’s motives, whether they believe that ‘true artists need to suffer’, and Keoghan tells us about the pressure in portraying a real life person. Finally they discuss the notion of the ‘American Dream’ and how this film seeks to present a somewhat skewed version of it.

American Animals is released on September 7th