***1/2 out of ****
Directed by: David Michod
Starring: James Frecheville, Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, Jacki Weaver and Guy Pearce
Running time: 112 minutes
Hungry for a lean, hard-boiled crime thriller with plenty of meaty performances? Look no further than Animal Kingdom, an electric feature film debut from Australian writer/director David Michod.
Newcomer James Frecheville is Joshua ‘J’ Cody, a teen who moves in with his grandmother (Jacki Weaver) and three uncles after his mother dies from a heroin overdose. The family has ties in Melbourne’s shady criminal underworld, and they plan to initiate ‘J’ into their menacing retreats.
But after two police officers are shot (elements from Kingdom were loosely inspired by the Melbourne-bred Walsh Street shootings), an earnest detective (Guy Pearce) suspects that the Cody clan is behind the murders and makes 'J' the prime witness to the family’s whereabouts.
Michod handles his first feature film with an assured grip. He wisely establishes the family dynamic early, and has the camera linger on the natural behaviour within their habitat, rather than in the drug-dealing and blood-ridden scores elsewhere. The film is patient in the sense that it takes its time in figuring out the characters, but busy in how actively it exposes the dark undercurrents of the malicious Cody kingdom.
The suspense starts building when we realize that something’s making this family tick, but – like 'J' – we can only sniff out the tension. By refraining from going into the exact details of this criminal underground, we never know when, how, and from who the menace will strike next (the motives for these outbursts are not always given up-front).
As Smurf – the mother whose bite could eat her young – Jacki Weaver is ruthlessly cold and calculating. Although Smurf warms up to ‘J’ by reciting poignant memories of his mother, there is a sharpness in Weaver’s eyes that suggests otherwise.
Likewise, Ben Mendelsohn is arresting as Andrew Cody, the oldest and creepiest uncle of the lot. He often exhibits a distant, yet hypnotic gaze that hints at an emptiness languishing inside of him. His villainy is subtle yet simmers underneath all of the mayhem.
Finally, Guy Pearce shows a police officer's noble conviction with great focus and authority (remember, he did enter the public's radar over a decade ago as the by-the-book lieutenant in L.A. Confidential, and he's equally as good here).
Animal Kingdom is brilliantly acted, hauntingly filmed, and incredibly suspenseful - mostly because it knows how and when to pounce on an unsuspecting audience. It ranks among the year's best films.
Even though you took a 2 month hiatus of not writing over the summer months, your writing skills have not faultered at all. Although this film does not sound like one I would enjoy seeing, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your review. YOU DEFINITELY HAVE A UNIQUE TALENT!! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!
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