Andrea Arnold’s raw and electrifying “American Honey,” a 160-minute road trip through an America rarely seen on screen — perhaps a modern day “Grapes of Wrath” with an added dose of “On the Road” — was clearly born of a disenfranchised millennial experience.
Arnold depicted a generation disconnected with their country, living on the fringes rather than trying to live or engage with “the American dream.” Actress Sasha Lane, a non-professional plucked off the streets, played the lead character, a lost child that hops onboard a bus full of teens looking for their place in the world on the way to nowhere, arguing, fighting, making love and singing along to Top 40 radio hits.
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To say the film opened up doors for Lane would be an understatement. The actress currently has six movies slated for release in the next year, including Ben Wheatley‘s much anticipated “Freak Shift.” You can now add a seventh picture to that list, as it was announced today that Lane will star in the “Hellboy” reboot that Lionsgate-Millenium has been recently working on. She will be playing Alice Monaghan, whom in the comic books is supposed to be a redheaded, freckled woman born in 1950’s Ireland. Clearly, Lane is not a physical match for the character, but growing Hollywood diversity is such these days that, increasingly, studios and producers are less afraid to break away from convention. There’s plenty of work to be done, obviously, but signs like this are always encouraging.
“Hellboy” will be directed by Neil Marshall, whose filmography includes 2005’s remarkable U.K. horror import “The Descent” and some pretty classic episode of “Game Of Thrones.” No release date has been announced as of now, but a 2018 release is a possibility. [THR]