Established by the British as a criminal dumping ground, Australia has defined itself through its underworld history of gang wars. The infamous bushranger turned defiant outlaw, Ned Kelly, presides as an iconic representation of the ongoing fascination Australia has with its criminal history. His criminal story has been developed for film ten times. The most recent was Gregor Jordan’s 2003 biopic Ned Kelly, starring Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush and Naomi Watts. The film wasn’t a success, like most weak biography to screen crime adaptations. Animal Kingdom, however, is a rare crime drama standout that pares back factual details to focus on the dramatic fictional retelling of a 1980’s Melbourne underworld. The result is an emotionally powerful piece of cinema that will stay with the audience for longer than its two hour running time.
In his debut feature, writer/director David Michod establishes Animal Kingdom as a world in which drugs have corrupted the idea of normal life, through two generations. Its setting is timeless, but the film was inspired by the true events that took place in Melbourne in the 1980’s particularly circling around the October 1988 Walsh Street shootings where two young police officers were ambushed and gunned down in the inner-city suburb of South Yarra.
The film begins with Joshua ”J” Cody (James Frecheville), a 17-year-old boy who has come to live with his grandmother, Janine ”Smurf” Cody (Jacki Weaver), after the death of his mother. In Smurf’s household, crime is a career. Her three sons, Andrew known as ”Pope” (Mendelsohn), Craig (Sullivan Stapleton), Darren (Luke Ford) and their associate “Baz” Brown (Joel Edgerton) earn their money through armed robbery. Led by Detective Leckie (Guy Pearce), the police and the armed robbery squad are determined to catch them.
When local police gun two of the family’s sons down without warning, Pope, who is the most feared member of the clan, plans a random attack on police to retaliate. Mendelsohn is chilling in his performance as the dark soul in the family whose very presence seems to intimidate even the audience into submission. The effect is akin to watching a horrifying disaster take place and being unable to do anything except watch the events unfold.
But not even Mendelsohn’s superb performance can outmatch the constant discomfort that Jacki Weaver’s performance of “Mama Smurf” exudes. She smothers her sons with an affection that leaves the audience wondering just how close her relationship with them is behind the scenes of what we see. Her maternal instinct is constantly sexualized with the extended lip-locking kisses that she gives her boys before they go out to sell drugs or commit murder. It is certainly one of the better roles and best performances of Weaver’s career.
The brutality of the criminal underworld is captured mostly by the camera rather than in dialogue. This is perhaps the greatest strength in Michod’s script as it assists the audience in becoming engaged with emotional truth of the events that they are witnessing on screen. Animal Kingdom builds on the combining forces of both the visual and the verbal drama to become a memorable piece of cinema amongst the many in the same genre. The idea of human interaction merely being a constant animal struggle for the same kingdom is constantly reinforced through dialogue.
Joshua, the outsider stuck within a criminal family circle, is caught between his criminal family and a life of normality. Through his innocence, we see the corruption of police officers whose war with the family has escalated beyond the limits of the law. Pearce’s character, Leckie acts as the only character that is entirely good. He uses the same idea of the Animal Kingdom in attempt to save Joshua from his inevitable path of destruction: “Strong animals survive. But you are one of the weak ones. You have survived because you were protected by the strong. They aren’t strong any more.”
Animal Kingdom is compelling in all aspects of cinematic storytelling. The characters are performed with a perfect cast, the screenplay attentive to detail and direction and the fictional, yet emotional truth telling of real events exemplifies the impressive aspects of the crime drama genre. Having won the jury prize for world cinema at Sundance, Animal Kingdom is certain to do well when it is publically released around the world.
Animal Kingdom will be in cinemas August 13.
9.5 out of 10.
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