The overarching conceit of “Animal Kingdom” is Darwinian survival of the fittest, or in this case, the smartest. Set in a bland suburban neighborhood of Melbourne, Australia, this movie is more character study of ruthless predators than hot and fast action. And the narrative is dominated by Smurf Cody (Jacki Weaver), the bleached-blonde mama lion with her glittering blue eyes and menacing smile. Although her three sons are bank robbers and drug dealers, she is the most dangerous and the one to keep your eye on. The opening images of the movie, the directorial and screenwriting debut of David Michôd, are statues and drawings of lions and for 17-year old J Cody (James Frecheville), the narrator and protagonist, it seems that he is one of the weak and doomed. When J’s mother, Smurf’s estranged daughter, dies of a drug overdoes, J realizes that he’s in the lion’s den and his family is a group of sociopaths engaged in a deadly war with Melbourne’s out-of-control armed-robbery squad.
The 60-something Smurf is a scary incarnation of Ma Barker camouflaged as a cheery grandmother. She adores her outlaw sons although her favorite is the youngest and she kisses them with just a little too much enthusiasm. Pope (Ben Mendelsohn), the eldest and self-appointed leader, is a creepy drug-using sociopath; Craig (Sullivan Stapleton) is a heavily tattooed, hyper-active drug dealer and user; and Darren (Luke Ford), the youngest and most ineffectual, walks around in a perpetual drug haze and does his older brothers’ bidding. Once he moves in with his relatives, J is unavoidably involved in the family business. Although J remains silent most of the time, his animal instincts tell him that his uncles are just as frightened as he is and he understands that he needs to find a safe place for himself even if it means talking to the police. Guy Pearce plays a decent cop genuinely interested in J’s safety. “Crooks always come undone, always, one way or another,” says J in a commentary that introduces the story. “Animal Kingdom,’ the 2010 Sundance Grand Jury World Cinema prize winner, is a winner. 8/16/10
1 comment:
In this story the "Mama", Smurf Cody, has raised a band of very bad boys and the worse they behave the prouder she gets. Her whole aim in life is to protect her sons from the menacing authorities. She has hired an oily lawyer who keeps rescuing her boys from jail and even from police death squads. One by one the boys die off and shrinks mama's world of crime. I'm not sure its quite as good a movie as the blogger rates it but its worth seeing.
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