A Constant Visual Feast

If you need an example of what constitutes “American dirtbag cinema,” I’ll point you to movies like Dinner in America; basically, I’d define this niche as “movies set at society’s fringes, focusing on otherwise normal people at the fringes’ fringes.” The protagonists in these movies don’t always gel with or appreciate the dirtbagginess of their surroundings. They want for something more. 

Rats! is a good example of this particular “dirtbag cinema” formulation; it’s gnarly and at times stomach-churning, but there’s a wonder, a heart, a sweetness pushing the story along to offset its weirder elements. 

You can read my full review over at Paste Magazine.