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Animal Kingdom (2010)

Director: David Michôd

Time Out rating

Average user rating

30 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

This is a cocky, eye-grabbing debut from Australian writer and director David Michôd. He brings a big dose of Scorsese to Melbourne in telling of a fictional crime family, the Codys, who look like a regular bunch of grown-up brothers living with their mother but who pursue evil with the same vigour with which one of them hoovers up coke. Moreover, their mum, Janine (Jacki Weaver – channelling Grace Zabriskie), might even be the most evil of the lot. Our entry to their lives is via these bruisers’ quiet, 17-year-old nephew Josh (James Frecheville), who moves in with them when his own mum dies of an overdose. Soon, Josh is caught between family and the law after his uncles avenge the death of a pal (Joel Edgerton) by killing two police officers.

The film has the dread air of a funeral march witnessed through a heroin fug, albeit a stylish one, with slo-mo camera movements, ample music and an electronic score. The story mirrors many tales of gangsters and individuals caught up in the claustrophobia of crime, but Michôd makes it feel fresh and thoughtful. The sense of grotesque, especially with Janine, is distinctive, and he avoids the trap of making characters too lucid (sample dialogue: ‘Do you love me?’ ‘Yeah.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Because you’re nice.’). It’s not unique, but as a distillation of a well-worn genre, it’s admirable.

Author: Dave Calhoun

Time Out London Issue 2114: Feb 23 - Mar 2, 2011

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User reviews of this film

Anna said...

Posted on Aug 19 2011 17:33 3 stars, seriously???*&^%^ This is one of the most atmospheric films I have seen in a looong time. A really brilliant film and I can't believe it's by a first time director. If you can appreciate subtlety and prefer psychological undertones to mega explosions, please go and see it, If however you need everything to be spelled out for you, probably you won't enjoy it.

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andy said...

Posted on Jul 16 2011 00:40 The first hour I thought was quite good if a little grim,the last 50 minutes was gripping and by the conclusion I was honestly blown away.Brilliant ending.

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nickle said...

Posted on Apr 09 2011 10:13 I dont usually comment on these sites, but I saw this film yesterday then read the reveiw. This is far superior to most in the genre. Tense, believable and well crafted. It is oddly fast moving and slow at the same time. Certainly deserves four stars and probably five. Best film I have seen so far this year.

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HollandFilmFan said...

Posted on Mar 15 2011 23:35 Most of the same type of movies made by Hollywood all the time can't compare with this very interesting and suspenseful Australian film. Quite remarkable how the Australian film industry comes up with this kind of surprising and thrilling film every once in a while!

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Phil Ince said...

Posted on Mar 13 2011 21:30 I thought it had a few too many strands quite to do them all justice and, at the time, I got a little lost in the final convolutions. Not what I was expecting and quite gripping at times.

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Kez said...

Posted on Mar 13 2011 11:16 Fabulous. Great performances, great writing, really interesting examination of what a criminal life does to people.

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Beth said...

Posted on Mar 10 2011 23:20 A phenomenal first feature from a clearly very talented director and some really outstanding performances. The suspense nearly killed me, but oddly, I found it actually slower than Archipelago, which I'd seen the day before and is hardly an action flick or thriller.

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BDKA said...

Posted on Mar 09 2011 21:44 This won't be everybody's cup of tea, I'm certain some will find the relentlessly portentous atmosphere & stylised elements overbearing & annoying, the central performance flat, the score bland... but I certainly didn't. Conversely I thought it was completely gripping, the performances utterly convincing, the cinematography striking, and ultimately the film in general impressive, memorable & enjoyable. Thoroughly recommended.

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Heather said...

Posted on Mar 09 2011 17:17 I too was surprised by the three stars. This is a fabulous movie and to liken it to the violence porn Scorsese churns out is wrong headed. The almost unbearable tension that leads up to the final scene is amazing. The script, acting, editing is superb. And the characters are all very believable. These people aren't freaks, rather they are all too believable and haven't been glorified as in most US crime thrillers or mafia films. Some reviewers here also seem to forget that the central character, J, is very young and has been thrown into a situation he has previously been protected from. Hence his vacant look. He's as confused and as scared as the rest of his family, that's the whole point.

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Dave said...

Posted on Mar 06 2011 15:37 Brilliant Movie . Thought a minimum of 4 stars and judging by the review I don't know why he only gave 3 when his write up suggests more.I see the average is 4 stars after 20 reviews.

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Mike said...

Posted on Mar 04 2011 13:55 A clever story. Well scripted, and acted. In particular I liked the 'incidental music', which at times take the places of dialogue, and leaves you to work out for yourself what's happening. If you like films that explain every last detail, this isn't for you - this movie leaves character motivation to your imagination, but not so much you can't figure out what'll happen next. The photography was good and, like I say, the incidental music. Not quite Oscar nomination stuff, but highly recommended nonetheless. 3 stars.

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david said...

Posted on Mar 03 2011 18:02 Really enjoyed this film.Aussie films of late have not been up to much,but this is a return to form.No real graphic violence,just plenty of tension and atmosphere.
The acting is uneven,but that's the only criticism.
It's incredible and narrow minded that the Americans relegated this film to foreign film category..Time for the Oscars to be relegated themselves to the joke awards.four stars

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ARCHGATE said...

Posted on Mar 01 2011 09:45 Timeout have awarded this film 3 stars. Why all the undue knocking? 3 stars means: worth seeing ...surely.

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MW said...

Posted on Mar 01 2011 09:32 The negative comments are clearly an inside job. TIMEOUT FAIL.

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BobbyM said...

Posted on Mar 01 2011 09:25 Nope not an Aussie myself, UK,-.. Its the way this movie covers so much ground which is so amazing, while at the same time remaining so unforced and organic. have not seen many films do this in any genre. subtle and intelligent, an amazing film.

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