Animal Kingdom is good news for those of us who want to support the Australian film industry and see our own stories up there on the big screen but struggle to find quality Australian films at our local picture palace. A big hit with audiences at this year's Sundance Festival and winner of the World Cinema Dramatic Grand Jury prize - David Michôd's Animal Kingdom is a dark, moody Australian crime drama set in Melbourne. Michôd shows great potential as a director in this debut feature eliciting outstanding performances from his actors and creating a tense, often edge of the seat atmosphere with jolts of action keeping his audience hooked til the end.
After 17 year old J's mother dies of a heroin overdose, his grandmother and uncles take him in. Previously shielded from their criminal dealings, J is quickly drawn into their world of armed robbery, drug dealing and the like. The story takes an ominous twist when J's uncle Baz (Joel Edgerton) is cold bloodedly shot by the police. His unstable brother Pope talks his other two brothers into a murderous act of vengeance setting in train a course of brutal events as the police pull out all the stops to bring the brothers to justice. J, a minor actor in his uncles' vendetta, is pressured by the police to testify against his uncles. The finale of the film stunningly resolves the tension between J's struggle to remain loyal to his family and his fear and anger at his mistreatment by grandmother and uncles who think he has betrayed them.
While the story is compelling enough, the acting performances are the real reason to buy a ticket to this movie. Frecheville puts in a quiet strong performance as J, an excellent foil to the edgy tortured Mendelsohn as Pope and the dynamic Guy Pearce as the good cop Leckie, the family's antagonist. Jacki Weaver is in particularly good form with a chilling performance as the family matriarch, ultimately prepared to stop at nothing including murder, to protect her 'boys'.
If you like quality, gutsy and satisfying Australian films, Animal Kingdom should be right up your street. 4 out of 5 stars
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