sharky_55 It begins with the dulcet tones of Andrew O'Keefe's afternoon Deal or No Deal and a mother's heroin overdose. Joshua 'J' Cody sits blinking, almost unaware as the paramedics take her away. We're not sure if he is reacting to the death or is his gaze is focused on the television. Some criticism has been leveraged towards James Frecheville's performance as blank and unaffected by the chaos around him, and I suppose that there may be some truth in that. But to really understand this character you need to have met him. I have met a few Js in my time; they flit around the school system without so much as a word, and you could very well blow their mother's head off next to them and have the stony face not move an inch. They are barely of age and yet already covered by layers of learned masculinity that prevents any overt emotional reaction (and when he finally cries, it is with full-bodied shudders and snot). The brief, morose voice-over confirms as much - the Cody way of life is not so much different from what he has faced growing up his whole life. In David Michod's Animal Kingdom he is not simply thrust into the world of crime like many of these stories tend to do. He finds the Codys in a period of transition, where people are trying to change and leave for a better life. Their reasoning is that they can no longer live of life of constant surveillance and hiding, that at some point the certain thrills and riches of the criminal lifestyle cannot make up for the vice grip on their freedom and peace of mind. Baz has a wife and kid, and 20k that has become 60 in the stock market - future prospects. Edgerton has that Hollywood look about him, and seems more adjusted to civilian life than the Cody brothers could ever be. On some level, he has an assurance that they cannot afford. J also has this briefly, although he is haunted by the actions of his family throughout his stay at Nicole's. He drones out of the 'normal' family dinner, the shot rack focusing to the fate of the two policemen he helped lure to their deaths. It's a strange environment that Michod has created. It's not exactly the grim underbelly of the crime world, although Arkapaw has siphoned away its colour all the same. Australia does not have the same gun culture that these crime stories usually have, but the characters have no troubles with access there. A morbidly humorous scene shows this, with the masculine bravado of road-rage (not even that) being swiftly dispelled by the sight of a gun. The most intriguing aspect of the film, apart from the uniformly excellent performances, is the soundtrack. Partos knows exactly when to hold back here, so the viewer has time and head-space to be able to make their own judgements instead of being drowned out by the emotions of the score. He makes the silent cop killings chilling. He knows how to compress the Cody family with a cacophony of droning and buzzing as the investigators close in on them. And he knows how to magnify a moment in the slow motion, to show a monster sitting in his domain, or a house succumb to a SWAT raid like it us merely another Tuesday. These moments take on a dream-like quality, filtered through J's perspective until we are not sure what is really happening or who to trust. Would cops really shoot him in the vehicle? There is a brilliant moment when cops orchestrate a drug raid on the safe house that J stays in, also being guard by cops. The moral line has long been blurred that a police vest no longer holds any meaning. Ben Mendelsohn's Pope reminds me of (and looks a little like) Gary Oldman's Stansfield, both a quick trigger from exploding into a furious rage. But while Oldman was constantly on edge and trembling through his skin, Mendelsohn is dishevelled in a rat-like manner. You can see the weariness in his eyes and the lines in his face, and while his brothers panic, he simmers. Because he lacks this ability the character is more dangerous for it, and we feel threat from all corners, particularly as he leers over Nicole, and with a few simple words, bores into the innocent consciousness of J. The standout, however, is Jacki Weaver's Smurf, the mother hen of the nest. Unlike Pope, she never breaks character even once, reserving the same twisted smile and coo for her sons and cops alike. Her tendrils are wrapped tightly around her family, roping them in through motherly affection with incestuous tones. Weaver has a matter-of-fact delivery in her voice, never under any illusions about what she has brought into the world and how she will go about protecting them - even to the extent of throwing one cub to the vultures to shield the other two. And what Michod has commandeered in this ending is so magnificent that even she does not see it coming. After freely admitting J has been truly lost, she welcomes him back into her den with the belief that he has been neutered. But are we cheering for J as he achieves his vengeance? No, because in a small victory he has lost everything else, and that fresh-faced, solemn boy has replaced by a lion.

LeonLouisRicci Methodical Madness of a Crime Family from Down Under. These are not American Gangsters and lack the Swagger and Loud Mouth of Their Northern Cousins. The Cops seem to have more in Common with Law Enforcement Types from the States.This is an "Inspired by" True Story of an Infamous Family from Oz that has been Told and Retold in the Native Land. Here a Rookie Director manages to Create a Slow Tell Tale of a Bunch of Losers on the Skids.The Central Character is a Young High Schooler brought into the Fold. He is a Cousin and not one of the Brothers and is Prime as a Scapegoat.Consider also, that He is a Withdrawn, Un-Wordy Type, that is Detached, and not quite with it. The Opening Scene where He keeps Glancing back to a Game Show on the TV while His Mother is being Worked on by Paramedics because of a Drug Overdose Speaks Volumes Without Words.This is a Boy of very Few Words and We Watch as He is Drawn In and maybe about to be Quartered, by this Family of Odd Sociopaths. All are Cut from the same Apron Cloth, but Each a Distinctive Personality, Spawned from a Mother who Bakes Cookies and Wet Mouth Kisses Her Boys while They go about Their Forbidden Activities. Overall, a Combination of Gritty, Realistic Crime and Punishment but Comparison to Elite Filmmakers like Scorsese and such are Overstated.This is a somewhat Original take on the Genre and its Strength is a Cold Blooded Familial Bond and Understated Performances from Actors Portraying a Clan of Cave Criminals.

Liam Blackburn Pope in this movie, his eyes, they're pure evil. What else can you say, the first moment he enters the act, you just get a massively uneasy feeling wash over you. The music in this movie is really well done. Came to this movie after watching The Rover and this one is as much if not better than that one. It has the same feel to it. Very stark deep and emotionally involving.. The characters develop incredibly well, you end up feeling their feelings. When Pope murders the guy's girlfriend, that was pretty much one of the most evil things I've ever seen in a movie. It was actually absolutely shocking. The animal kingdom is full of beasts. Let us not forget that humans are beasts just like all the rest.

videorama-759-859391 Despite it's intriguing title, although we're not in Africa, but inner city Melbourne, during a more frightening time, when murder was really up, here was a crime tale, a true one, that I finally got around to watching and I must say I was surprisingly, tastily, gratefully entertained, during the whole engrossing affair. Next to Snowtown, these were the two best Aussie films I've seen in years, both winners, and rightfully, deservedly so. James Frenchville, as J., a fish out of water, here is taken under his Auntie's (Mama Smurf) wing, when his mother o.d's. He then soon realizes of the madness surrounding him, involving Smurf's out of control sons, one of them spiralling into madness, after a revenge execution of his brother by some avenging and shady police. What follows is a revenge attack of three young innocent cops to make a point. Jay is taken in, where he's questioned by a well meaning detective, (Pearce, solid and likable in the role, one of the strongest actually) where to honor family or to avoid real possibility chance of being bumped off by his crime family tree, this messed up teen must lie his way out, and J isn't a really convincing liar. Soon he finds himself in a really dangerous situation, where as things heat up more, he must choose, where he opts to go into witness protection, which with Pearce and his yahoos, doesn't really inspire security. Pearce's family here, had an interesting character touch, where's he leads a simple life with wifie, his little girl, autistic in this. Weaver stars in the role of her lifetime as the manipulative Judy Moran (Mama Smurf) where taken as noticeable acting commodity by Hollywood, inspires actors to never give up, or realize it's not too late to be noticed by those people. The build up to the end is not as you expect, with a nasty twist in it's finale, if also disappointing aspect from Jay's change of heart. Animal Kingdom is one movie I really enjoyed with a stellar heavy weight, cast, where Mendelsohn's AFI award winning role as the real messed up brother of the family, is nothing short of acting brilliance. It's an intensely driven film with some real suffocatingly scary moments, in a film that is so darn entertaining, your eyes will never leave the screen.