Flick Flak: Animal Kingdom
Animal Kingdom
Director: David Michôd
Starring: Guy Pearce, James Frecheville, Jacki Weaver
Cert TBC, 113mins
Animal Kingdom seems to be an Australian attempt to show that their crime scene is every bit as gritty and unpleasant as America’s and Britain’s, and if this film is anything to go by, it is. The director’s debut feature length film shows some real promise, but is not quite as accomplished as other films of this genre.
The plot sees 17-year-old Josh forced to move in with the rest of his family, from whom his mother had tried to protect him before her death caused by a heroin overdose. It’s easy to see why, as they are armed robbers in Melbourne at a time when the police have few qualms about shooting suspects.
The film’s title appears at the start over a carving of lions, and I liked the analogy which existed throughout the film; for all the loud bustling of the men, you always get the sense that their mother is in charge, and is more dangerous. Also, when times get tough, the alpha males start to turn on the younger ones.
The film is a combination of good and bad. The acting is all really good, particularly from James Frecheville (Josh), his violent uncles, his frightening grandmother (played by Jacki Weaver), and as the only famous face, Guy Pearce provides good support as the only good policeman in a precinct only out to kill criminals. The trouble is that their characters are not as riveting as the film would like to think. I couldn’t help but identify actors I knew that would play the characters better, and that’s no slight to the Australian actors - I just think that the characters would have had more presence if, for example, the uncles had been played by a Paddy Considine, Stephen Graham or even a younger Gary Oldman.
These actors would have fit nicely into Animal Kingdom, which has quite a Shane Meadows feel to it - there is dark humour, the criminals are not all bad and the police certainly are not good. Every now and then the director demonstrates a bit of flair, in particular when conjuring a sense of impending dread. However, when the inevitable moments of impact occur they seemed to lack something. I don’t know whether this was a conscious attempt to remain realistic, but for me there were several anti-climaxes to really tense build-ups.
Towards the end Animal Kingdom is really good - events hurry along, with increasing drama, and the plot becomes unpredictable. However it is a real shame that before this the film is not paced well - while I think that critics will rate this film pretty highly, like A Prophet last year, mainstream audiences will find Animal Kingdom a bit boring.
If you like the crime genre, and enjoyed films such as A Prophet, you should give Animal Kingdom a go. It is an interesting début for the director, and it has moments of brilliance. It just doesn’t have the excitement factor, most recently seen in something like The Town, to woo a wider audience.
Animal Kingdom is in cinemas from the 25th February.
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2 Comments – Postiwch sylw
Gibbo
Rhoddwyd sylw 15 mis yn ôl - 10th February 2011 - 15:05pm
Have you seen the French films Mesrine Parts I & II? Highly recommended if you liked A Prophet.
neilramsden
Rhoddwyd sylw 15 mis yn ôl - 11th February 2011 - 08:57am
They're on my rental list, and Vincent Cassel is awesome. Good to know they're good tho cheers! I did like A Prophet but it did suffer from being quite boring in places.