With the “based on real events” thing getting a bit old, some recent films have started to have fun with this oft-used opening – American Hustle introed with “Some of this actually happened”, while today’s film, Doug Liman’s American Made, was described by the director as “a fun lie based on a true story”. . . a clever way to accentuate the addition of many fictional plot points to enrich the narrative.
Tom Cruise plays Barry Seal, a seemingly staid airplane pilot secretly looking for a thrill in his exhausting, routine-driven life. Married to Lucy (Sarah Wright), they have what a traditionalist would coin – the middle class dream – family, home, and solid income. Yet, a well informed CIA agent, Monty ‘Schafer’ (Domhnall Gleeson), tracks Barry down at the end of one of his flights – it does not take much to convince the pilot to sign up, and he is soon working questionable missions for the agency all over Central America.
A master flyer with a knack for getting the job done – and living for the thrill (does it not sound like the actor himself), the spook promptly asks for more. . . looking for him to courier vital information between the CIA and General Manuel Noriega (Alberto Ospino) – if you need a geography clue as to where this would be – think Van Halen’s hit song.
A hitch arises when Barry is quickly nabbed by the Medellín Cartel, forced to meet Pablo Escobar (Mauricio Mejía) and the rest of his crew. Offered an obscene amount of money to fly cocaine into the United States, the pilot double dips, working for both the Cartel and CIA.
With the help of the Agency, Barry is set up with a giant plot of land, comprised of his new home (surrounded by a forest for privacy), an airfield, a hangar, as well as plenty of space to train people that will be part of his next task – arming Contra fighters (many of whom will also be flown back to be trained in the US of A).
Filmizon.com’s Nikolai Adams with Steve Coulter, one of the Snow Birds in American Made
Needing a bigger team for the operation, Barry hires a trustworthy sidekick, Bill Cooper (Jayson Warner Smith) – with a wild card spirit, and three other pilots (including Steve Coulter, who has been interviewed on Filmizon.com) – they are known as the Snow Birds.
The ever growing operation becomes harder to hide and is now noticed by a bevy of interesting characters, from the small town Sheriff, Downing (Jesse Plemons) and Lucy’s dangerously dim-witted brother JB (Caleb Landry Jones), to several Agency’s chomping at the bit to nab the drug transportation guru – namely, the Arkansas State Police (and Arkansas State Attorney General Dana Sibota – played by Jayma Mays), FBI, DEA, and ATF. Will Barry and his team be able to continue their risky game, transporting guns, intel, drugs and people under the ever encroaching noses of numerous law enforcement agencies? If arrested, will the government have an ulterior plan for the well-connected, wily pilot? What will come of the countless bags of cash hidden throughout the estate?
A fast-plotted piece, the nearly always moving camera plays like a paranoid, cocaine-high addict, the handheld work symbolic of the job and the danger that comes with living a life in the belly of the criminal beast. As the narrative speeds along towards the finale, Liman amps up this feeling, adding more video interludes recorded by Barry himself, a man who is, at that point, on the run, spending each evening in a different motel to stay ahead of his past, present and future.
Filmizon.com’s Nikolai Adams with Jayson Warner Smith, who plays Bill Cooper in American Made
Further bringing things to life, Liman, with Cruise’s drive for realism and authenticity, shot all of the plane sequences in air. With Cruise flying his own plane, everything you see is jaw-droppingly real – be it a scene where Barry flies just over the head of Schafer (actually Gleeson), or a moment when he puts his plane on autopilot, leaving the cockpit to drop giant bags of cocaine over Louisiana. I was fortunate enough to speak with Jayson Warner Smith recently, and he recounted life on the set – where he was warned about the dangers of being in the cockpit, as there was literally a helicopter filming right beside their wing (he was flying with an experienced pilot next to him – not dealing with takeoffs, landings or some of the more complex set pieces). Speaking of complex set pieces, one final sequence worth mentioning is when Smith’s Cooper falls asleep whilst returning home, Barry needing to bump his wing to wake him from his golden slumber. It draws a link to Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, with both films featuring awe-inspiring in-air scenes that need to be lauded. Yet, to reiterate the dangers of doing these things in a realistic manner, Carlos Berl and Alan Purwin sadly lost their lives on the last day of filming, crashing in bad weather, while pilot Jimmy Lee Garland was rushed to hospital after suffering serious injuries.
With countless nods to real life, American Made (Tom Cruise’s second film with Liman – after 2014’s Edge of Tomorrow) is a perfect stepping stone for someone interested in watching a motion picture on a very intriguing time in American history. . . though not completely authentic, its aura is true (and extremely entertaining), while the script (written by Gary Spinelli) is littered with so many real life characters and references – Governor Bill Clinton, a young George W. Bush, Oliver North, all of the above mentioned personas/groups and so much more (as well as the Iran-Contra affair senate hearings – an interesting connection is that Liman’s father, Arthur L. Liman, served as chief council). Hitting the right spot, American Made is well worth landing, a dramatic crime affair to remember.