Drugs, guns, and bank robberies abound in Animal Kingdom. But don’t expect an action film. Animal Kingdom, the debut film from director David Michôd, is a slow-burning drama that just happens to involve action tropes.
After Josh Cody’s (James Frecheville) mother overdoses on heroin, he moves in with his criminally-minded Grandma Smurf (Jacki Weaver). You see, Ol’ Smurfy aids and abets her three sons and their friend, Barry (Joel Edgerton). They sell drugs. They kill cops. In another life, before we met them, they robbed banks.
And stuck in the middle of it all is J, as his family calls him. Big, dopey-looking, mouth-breathing J.
Michôd paces the plot slow enough to bore lazier audiences. Don’t fall into the trap; you’ll miss some fantastic performances. Instead of flat-out telling us that Pope Cody is a fucking lunatic, actor Ben Mendelsohn has over an hour to build Pope’s psychosis from the ground up. Weaver also makes the most of the Animal Kingdom’s tempo; her smiles mask the character’s calculating, brutal attitude, only hinting at what lies beneath.
Stripped down, however, Animal Kingdom is a film about Josh’s harsh introduction into adulthood. His ties to his family force him to abandon his girlfriend. Pressure from a Melbourne detective (Guy Pearce) turns his family against him. He becomes, as the film’s title suggests, an animal in a society without rules—he must fend for, and protect, himself.
Josh’s transformation stems in no small way from his lack of a father figure. The film seems to be acutely aware of the Cody family’s deficiencies. In a series of psychological power plays, Pope attempts to convince his family members to confide in him, to make him its patriarch. He fails, then gradually unravels.
Animal Kingdom has moments of brilliance and others that disappoint. It will change the way you listen to Air Supply’s “All Out of Love,” but it will frustrate you with excessive voice-overs. It’s fantastic, except for when it’s not.
But, it’s all about working out where it fits. Just ask J.
