The 2024 Mystery/Thriller American Star features languid death in the desert. Ian McShane moves ever so slowly towards the film’s climax but this is worth the wait. It’s ambiguous ending may not be for everyone. However, the film is suspenseful and nigh on impossible to turn away from. I was gripped from the very first frame.
American Star the Story
Wilson is an assassin for hire. This is to be his last job. He arrives at Fuerteventura to find the mark is running late. Wilson has time to kill and falls in love with the area. The assassin meets a young woman; Gloria. She shows him the American Star. A shipwrecked vessel popular with tourists and locals alike.
Ryan; a younger colleague, arrives to check up on him. Wilson meets a young boy from Wales and the two talk. Later, Wilson learns that that there is a least one more name on that last list. Death, for the most part, is fast, brutal and, oddly enough, surprising.
American Star Cast
Ian McShane is Wilson.
Nora Arnezeder is Gloria.
Oscar Coleman is Max.
Andrés Gertrúdix is Cowboy.
Adam Nagaitis is Ryan.
Kudos To:
Fanny Ardant as Anne.
Thomas Kretschmann as Thomas.
American Star Works
Director Gonzalo López-Gallego takes the script by Nacho Faerna and allows the story to pace itself. Yes it is slow, but, the vistas are beautiful. The interactions between the main cast members is interesting enough that the languid momentum is not off putting.
The entire film is based upon a mixture of foreboding and almost instantaneous reactions to the characters in it.
I disliked Ryan from the very start but liked Gloria, Anne and Max.
This is the second time that McShane worked with López-Gallego. The first film they did together was the 2016 Noir-ish crime thriller The Hollow Point. McShane’s characters in these two movies were polar opposites.
I will be reviewing the 2016 Noir film as I had to re-watch it after learning of McShane’s appearance. It is like night and day to the 2024 American Star. The pacing in both films are slow. This seems to be a trademark of López-Gallego as a director. “Star” however is glacial in pace compare to the earlier film.
Both of these movies entertain.
Side Note
There is a scene, at the end of the film that should be a teaching point for all new filmmakers. A masterclass of just how to make things look and feel beyond natural. The entire thing works so well that we are surprised, despite knowing better, at what transpires.
The Verdict
American Star earns a stonking 5 stars. The only real issue was that McShane is now starting to look old. In his Lovejoy days, I got to work on one of the episodes, he still had that “Peter Pan” quality.
McShane alone is always good value for money. Also, keep an eye on young Oscar Coleman. He shines in this one.
American Star is streaming on Hulu, AMC Plus, and Sundance.
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