Review – ANIMAL KINGDOM

Animal kingdom follows the story of Jay, a 17 year old boy who moves in with his grandma and uncles after his mother dies of a heroin overdose, and to make matters worse his new housemates are notorious bank robbers.

There are no bank heists in the film, just snippets of CCTV footage shown in the credits, so those expecting set pieces seen in Heat or The Town will be disappointed. The action is kept to a minimum and what you get is a brooding intense crime drama. A critique of the film could be that is a pretty slow paced, though I found this not to be the case as it is shot so well and the score is understated yet powerful in certain occasions giving Animal Kingdom  a tense atmosphere throughout.

SUPPORT US!!! WE ARE A SMALL, INDEPENDENT FILM WEBSITE WITH NO BIG BACKERS, SO IF YOU LOVE OUR SITE AND OUR WRITERS, PLEASE CONSIDER HELPING US TO KEEP FILM JOURNALISM ALIVE!

The acting is fantastic from the whole ensemble notably Jacki Weaver who plays the grandma, she is both menacing and forgiving when she needs to be, she was given a nod by the Academy for the best supporting actress academy award. James Frecheville gives a powerful yet grounded performance as the lead, even more impressive considering this is only his second film. Joel Edgerton won an AFI award (the Aussie Oscars) for his role as Baz even though he’s only in the first twenty minutes of the film. And it’s always good to see Guy Pearce pop up in a film, this time he plays a frustrated cop who wants to convict Jay’s the uncles and sports a fantastic moustache.

To sum up Animal Kingdom, this film is a superb crime thriller full of tension and leave a lasting impression on you after the credits roll.

★★★★

Extras
In terms of extras you could not really ask for more the film has an extensive hour long making of which is pretty interesting, as well as in depth interviews with cast and crew members.

★★★★★

Thriller, crime | 11th July 2011 Blu-ray, DVD | Studiocanal UK | Dir: David Michôd | James Frecheville,  Guy Pearce , Joel Edgerton , Jacki Weaver, Ben Mendelsohn, Sullivan Stapleton, Luke Ford / 18

Buy Animal Kingdom on  Blu-ray / DVD [Amazon]

About the Author

michael Hill

View All Posts