Recommendation of the Week (17/07): Animal Kingdom

David Michod’s searing crime drama got some deserved acclaim last year and even garnered an Oscar nod earlier in 2011. It took a while to come out over here, but now its out on DVD and Blu-ray a larger audience can check it out. This may very well be the best crime drama since The Departed. Animal Kingdom also marks the latest in a resurgence for the Australian film industry which has recently enjoyed acclaim for films such as Wolf Creek, The Loved Ones and The Square. It seems the days of Paul Hogan and drag queens on buses in the desert are long behind us and the country is bringing some real talent to the fore like Nash Edgerton (The Square)  Spencer Susser (Hesher) and now David Michod.

Animal Kingdom takes place in Melbourne and begins with introverted teen Joshua Cody or J (James Frecheville) sitting next to the dead body of his mother who has just overdosed on heroin. At a loss for what to do once the body has been taken away he calls his Grandmother Janine or ‘Smurf’ (Oscar nommed Jackie Weaver) who agrees to take him in. Its at the new household where we meet the rest of the Cody clan, all up to their neck in crime of one form or another but mainly living through armed robbery. Baz (Joel Edgerton) is the leader and the calm family man centre. Darren (Luke Ford) is the youngest and most mellow of them all constantly smoking weed. Craig (Sullivan Stapleton) is a drug addict and a twitchy drug dealer with ties to the corrupt police force. Finally Pope (Ben Mendelsohn) is a volatile psychopath who constantly threatens to bring police attention down on them with his recklessness. When J is reunited with his family he learns that the family are lying low and Pope is in hiding as their recent actions have brought greater police attention than ever. J is happy at first but more and more finds the family intimidating and prefers to stay with his girlfriend and her family. Then a sudden unexpected death occurs and the fall out means that the family finds themselves in free fall with nobody to look out for them. This leads to double crossing and suspicion as Craig and Pope both bring the police net closer and closer through their actions. Sergeant Nathan Leckie (Guy Pearce) recognizes that J does not belong and approaches him to bring him in as a police witness before it is too late.

This is the kind of film that lives and dies on its performances and luckily Animal Kingdom delivers some crackers. Joel Edgerton is brilliant in this movie, based on his work in the Star Wars prequels you wouldn’t have thought he would have anywhere to go but he is fast proving to be an extremely versatile performer. I only realized this week that he played the dense Russian minion in Smokin Aces. His performance here is great and along with the rest of the cast feels completely natural. Essentially he is playing a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders, a man who despite extreme stress remains a devout family man with a moral code. He is the centre of the movie in the first half and really puts across the idea that without this man the family would be truly lost. Ben Mendelsohn as the psychotic Pope is also solid, delivering a truly heinous villainous performance that is unpredictable and scary. Whilst I was watching this I kept thinking that James Frecheville as our main character was wooden and seemed to be a bit of a cipher. After watching the film I’ve realized that this works for the story and the character, as J is truly an outsider, unsure of his place in the world and intimidated by the family he had forgotten but is suddenly reunited with. When J gets to show some emotion towards the end of the film it has that much more of an impact so ultimately its a pretty well judged performance and a good decision from Michod. Guy Pearce is his usual dependable self giving depth to a minor character who has two sides; happily family man and no nonsense police officer. Ultimately Jackie Weaver walks away with the film and was thoroughly deserving of that Oscar nod. Her Grandma/Matriarch character is perhaps the most scary performance of the lot. She has affection for her children which sometimes borders on incest and when she has to protect her pride she does it with a smile and the affectation of a kindly grandma. Despite being a coil of menace the character also has our sympathies, we are seeing a woman driven to extremes to protect the family life that is falling down around her ears. Its definitely one for the books.

David Michod has a style very reminiscent of early Christopher Nolan. The film visually looks very similar to Memento but with added slow motion scenes and an interesting use of light which makes the whole thing come across as a hazy summer memory. The film is told in flashback with a voiceover, so this was a smart decision and adds to the feel of the whole piece. Animal Kingdom is never less than a thrilling piece of cinema, its deliberately paced and takes time to unfold its story but stick with it and you will be rewarded. Thanks to the acclaim this film received Michod should go on to make some great films now, I just hope that he doesn’t completely abandon the low budget independent realm when the results are this masterful.

by Chris Holt

I need followers on twitter: www.twitter.com/reformedaddict2

Got a screener? A cool poster? in production on your own low budget gem? Contact us at thelostmovies@hotmail.co.uk