This study of a dysfunctional crime family on the verge of imploding is tense, violent and supremely watchable
A kingdom of wounded and dying animals – that is, animals of the most vicious, dangerous kind – is what director David Michôd portrays here, and this is maybe the nearest we're going to get to an Australian GoodFellas. It is a tense, violent and supremely watchable crime drama, set in the bluecollar-gangland of Melbourne and starring Guy Pearce and Ben Mendelsohn, reviving memories of Eric Bana in Chopper and Scott Roberts's Australian heist thriller The Hard Word.
Michôd begins his movie with the queasiest touch of gallows humour: we seem to be watching bored teen Joshua Cody, known as J, played by James Frecheville, emotionlessly watching TV on the couch next to his sleeping mom. Yet the succeeding scene shows that this is not exactly what is happening, and J is sent to live with his cousins,...
A kingdom of wounded and dying animals – that is, animals of the most vicious, dangerous kind – is what director David Michôd portrays here, and this is maybe the nearest we're going to get to an Australian GoodFellas. It is a tense, violent and supremely watchable crime drama, set in the bluecollar-gangland of Melbourne and starring Guy Pearce and Ben Mendelsohn, reviving memories of Eric Bana in Chopper and Scott Roberts's Australian heist thriller The Hard Word.
Michôd begins his movie with the queasiest touch of gallows humour: we seem to be watching bored teen Joshua Cody, known as J, played by James Frecheville, emotionlessly watching TV on the couch next to his sleeping mom. Yet the succeeding scene shows that this is not exactly what is happening, and J is sent to live with his cousins,...
- 2/25/2011
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
The Australian crime drama Animal Kingdom is an absorbing and clear-eyed look at the lives and deaths of the Codys, a family of criminals led by their Ma Barker-like mom in contemporary Melbourne. While it follows some crime drama conventions there are no large-scale action scenes, Hollywood shine, or flashy visuals in this new film from writer-director David Michod. What there is in this taut drama is plenty of gritty realism and attention to detail resulting in a complex and gripping film. Animal Kingdom is told through the eyes and narration of young Joshua Cody (James Frecheville), whom everyone calls “J.” His mother has sheltered him from her psychotic family, but when she overdoses on heroin, he has little choice but to move in with his grandmother Smurf Cody. Soon J finds himself in the middle of the petty crime world of his four uncles, the animals of the title,...
- 9/3/2010
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Animal Kingdom is a dazzling debut film from Australian filmmaker David Michôd that spawns across the seedy Melbourne underworld of criminals and the police that chase them. It is a strikingly assured film from a first time director in that it is both ambitious and challenging to audiences without ever becoming tiring. The plot is loosely based on a series of real life events involving the murder of two police offers, better known as the Walsh Street shootings that occurred in Melbourne in 1988. Starring a cast of all star Aussie actors including Guy Pearce, Jacki Weaver and a terrifying performance from Ben Mendelsohn that echoes after the screen fades to back, while also pushing newcomer James Frecheville into the spotlight among the veteran ensemble.
The opening credits of the film is oddly operatic and sets an overall tone for the themes of animals in the wild, out to kill one another.
The opening credits of the film is oddly operatic and sets an overall tone for the themes of animals in the wild, out to kill one another.
- 8/13/2010
- by Raffi Asdourian
- The Film Stage
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