NEW FILMS TO STREAM, RENT ON-DEMAND OR BUY ON DVD/BLU-RAY

FILM OF THE WEEK

American Honey (Cert 15, 161 mins, Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd, Drama/Romance, available from February 6 on Amazon Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services, available from February 20 on DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £27.99)

Starring: Sasha Lane, Shia LaBeouf, Riley Keough, Arielle Holmes, McCaul Lombardi.

Eighteen-year-old Star (Sasha Lane) has been left to care for two young siblings, while her mother implodes on drugs. During a sortie to a supermarket, Star encounters a group of fun-loving teenagers led by Jake (Shia LaBeouf), who claims to be the manager of a door-to-door magazine subscription business.

"You can make 300 dollars a day if you're good," Jake assures Star. Initially, she isn't convinced by his bluster and haphazard attire, which he jokingly describes as "a little Donald Trumpish". Determined to escape the groping hands of her abusive stepfather, Star hits the road with Jake and the other kids, including misfit Pagan (Arielle Holmes) and blond prankster Corey (McCaul Lombardi). As they arrive at a motel, Star encounters the business' iron-fisted boss, Krystal (Riley Keough), who only retains youngsters that sell subscriptions by peddling fake sob stories. Failure won't be tolerated.

American Honey is a mesmerising, naturalistic portrait of disenfranchised youth, which has been semi-improvised by writer-director Andrea Arnold and her cast. Newcomer Lane delivers a performance of unvarnished, painful honesty that holds our attention, even during the few moments when Star seems to be heading for disaster and we silently consider averting our gaze. Arnold's bravura study of loneliness, abandonment and sexual awakening is illuminated by director of photography Robbie Ryan's documentary-style camerawork, which remains uncomfortably close to the characters as their emotional states unravel. The voyeuristic intimacy heightens in explicit, though dramatically necessary, sex scenes, which leave nothing to the imagination and are awkwardly fuelled by adrenaline.

Rating: ****