American Outlaws is a 2023 American mystery crime drama film written and directed by Sean McEwen and starring India Eisley, Emory Cohen and Sam Strike. This was Treat Williams' final film appearance before his death. It is based on the GQ article "The Whole True Story of the Dougherty Gang" by Kathy Dobie, about criminal siblings Dylan, Lee-Grace and Ryan Dougherty.
Contents
Plot
Three siblings, facing the possibility of prison, take matters into their own hands with a cross-country crime spree of epic proportions.
Cast
Emory Cohen as Dylan Dougherty
India Eisley as Lee-Grace Dougherty
Sam Strike as Ryan Dougherty
Tess Harper as Loretta Hillhouse
Cory Hardrict as Agent Morely
Treat Williams as Agent Jameison R. Donovan
Lance E. Nichols as Willy Spencer
Michael Myles Hayes as Chase Little
Production
In October 2018, it was announced that Cohen, Eisley, Strike, Harper, Hardrict and Williams were cast in the film, then titled The Dougherty Gang. In December that same year, it was announced that Nichols was cast in the film and filming occurred in Plain Dealing, Louisiana.
Release
The film premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on February 17, 2023.
Reception
Alan Ng of Film Threat rated the film an 8.5 out of 10.
Donald Liebenson of RogerEbert.com praised the performances of Williams and Hardrict, writing that they "etch an entertaining mentor-mentee dynamic."
Awards
The film won five awards at the Boston Film Festival, including:
Best Film
Best Screenplay
Best Director
Best Actress: India Eisley
Best Ensemble Cast: India Eisley, Sam Strike, Emory Cohen, Cory Hardrict, Treat Williams, Tess Harper
Williams was also recognized with a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award, accepted by his son Gil.