Animal Kingdom - Review Thread

[unity768]

Animal Kingdom - Review



I’m not familiar with the Australian film movement, but if its anything like the quality of Animal Kingdom, I might have to become more familiar with it. The story plays something like out of City of God, where a young kid is forced into the life of crime. The teenager’s name is Josh (the family calls him “J”) and after his mother overdoses on heroin, is taken in by his grandmother. She is head of the matriarch driven Melbourne crime family, a clan that becomes more coherently demented and delusional as we delve deeper into this messy story. Based on a series of true events, first time director David Michod impresses with the way his direction and script captures supporting characters that fail to conform to formula. The corruption of the police unit in the area serves as a compelling catalyst for blending the right and wrong. There is no clear villain and whether or not we should root for this family is left in the ambiguous.

The voice over narration provided by Josh adequately introduces the members of the family. Barry “Baz” is the partner of Andrew “Pope” Cody, the eldest son of J’s grandmother. Pope is in hiding because he is being hunted down by renegade detectives. The two talk together in a supermarket and the conversation has to do with Baz settling down with investing in the stock market. Shortly after something awful happens and pushes the family into a rage full of revenge against the Aussie police force. The pathetic and draining request from Pope to reach out to each family member speaks on just how petty these people are. The Melbourne clan kill two innocent police officers to extract their revenge, and they soon find themselves way in over their heads.

While the family themselves are intriguing enough, I was really digging the relationships Josh shares with his girlfriend Nicky (Laura Wheelwright) and officer Leckie (Guy Pearce). Nicky, to my interpretation, does not know about Josh and his family’s crime history. She brings him over to her house and the look and feel of her do-good family is stimulating. Her father is watching TV while her mother is making dinner. Does Josh yearn for this life? I’m not too sure. The bland look on his face never quite changes for most of the runtime despite going through the straining police questioning and constant family chaos. Sure the kid is suppose to feel overwhelmed, but by the time we see him actually shift in aggression we have already lost the sentimental connection.

Audiences looking for action should look the other way. Michod takes his time building suspense and then hits you over the head quickly and unexpectedly. The first kill is especially surprising and effective. There are a lot of people holding up guns and not firing them, chase scenes that end up going nowhere and death scenes that are filmed with a small scope and little surrounding audience. Michod’s choices are quite bold and help develop an authentic world for this family to crumble in. The choice of eliminating characters quite early is also unique and paves the way for a complex second half that only deepens the web of corruption and deceit.

Obviously Josh is the character who goes through the most change. He is played by James Frecheville and although the performance is solid, there could have been a bit more fleshed out. He nails the confused teen angle straight out of the first scene, giving a blank stare at the cops while they take his dead mother away. He actually takes a few ganders at the TV playing “Deal or No Deal;” does he actually care about his mother’s death or was this a long time coming? As Josh grows closer to Officer Leckie and begins manipulating both sides of the law, we never quite figure out who this person is becoming nor do we receive any indication on Frecheville’s part of what he wants to become. Leckie asks him if he has found his place. Josh keeps us entertained but never does he keep us guessing, something I thought Michod was definitely trying to accomplish.

Nevertheless, the characters in the family are all intriguing. Joel Edgerton does so much with Barry Brown in so little time. We see his fiery side in a car scene with Josh and yet see his soft side at home. The way he acts around his wife and his clear motivations to get out of the crime circle is satisfying and builds empathy. Ben Mendelsohn ignites stupidity and a rage of danger in Andrew “Pope” Cody. The way he tries to take over the reigns of family leader is intriguing and yet dismal. He injects cancer into the family and his wild impulse leaves Jacki Weaver’s Grandma Janine to pick up the pieces. Rightfully earning an Oscar nomination for her role here, Weaver shows a completely different side to this aging Grandma and her performance makes it so believable. At once an innocent bystander and the next an entirely different persona and she totally delivers the goods.

The sad and dark fate for nearly all of Michod’s characters should build some sort of lasting effect, but perhaps only one of these instances has a memorable strand. Pacing issues puts the narrative at risk of stalling a few times and a lack of an intriguing protagonist leaves the viewer wanting more. Nevertheless, this is a hell of debut for a feature length filmmaker, and I’ll be paying close attention to what he decides to do next.

Stars (out of four): ***

[krushgroove19]

Watched it last night. I really liked this. Kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.

[Jack]

I watched it right after The Town. Such a tense, refreshing antidote to that film. I loved just about everything in Animal Kingdom. Camera, acting, script, twists, music...all knocked me on my ass.

[Justin]

Yeah, same here. One of my favorite films of 2010.

Rating: A

[Daniel]

Just watched this last night. Good film, one of the better ones to come out of 2010. The grandma looks like a live version of Chucky, and I kept scratching my head over who the detective was ... Guy Pearce, I see it now.

9/10

[FranklinTard]

another solid piece of aussie film making is the square. pretty solid flick. on instant watch on netflix if you're curious.

[Jack]

Yeah, The Square is solid for sure. My knock against it is it is more concerned with plot mechanics than characters. Which is fine if you're looking for a good thriller, but Animal Kingdom is in its own league I think.

[shabadoo]

Really enjoyed it. Great acting all round.

[Dhamon22]

Yeah this was good.

8/10