Sasha Lane

In American Honey (2016), Sasha Lane makes Star's interest in Jake more compelling than the sales crew's business. She plays the attraction directly, and the film has something to return to whenever its travels begin to drift. Opposite her, Shia LaBeouf gives Jake a confidence that makes her less guarded presence register all the more clearly. We cared about Star because Lane kept her impulsiveness from becoming the whole of her personality. There was always a reason to stay with her, even when the story needed to get moving.

Andrea Arnold gave Lane her first acting role in that film, and its attention to Star remains a useful measure of what she can carry. The road drama needs a firmer edit in places; Lane cannot make every detour necessary. Its music and roadside encounters help sustain it, but her performance is the chief reason we recommend giving it the time. Afterwards came supporting work in independent films, including The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018), rather than a career built solely around leading parts.

Loki (2021) took her into franchise television, while How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2023) continued the independent ensemble work. The recurring casting idea has been the outsider or rebel. It suits the directness that makes Star persuasive, though repeated casting of this kind can become a limitation of its own. We want the character's decisions to surprise us, rather than their refusal to fit in becoming the only thing a part asks her to supply.

Lee Isaac Chung's Twisters (2024), with Lane as Lily, adds studio spectacle to that pattern of ensemble work. We found the film decent but frustrating: its frightening storms keep giving way to familiar characters being sad. It is a less useful starting point for Lane than the film Arnold built around Star. We would welcome another substantial lead, especially one that does not ask her to announce herself as the outsider.