Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom is an Australian gangster movie, but don't give up on it yet. It is told largely through the eyes of young "J" (James Frecheville), who after the death of his mother, moves to stay with his grandmother "Smurf" (Oscar nominated Jackie Weaver) and falls in with his three bank robbing uncles.

Where the film works well is in creating an underlying sense of tension at all times. Even in seemingly happy family times when other films might relax the tension, there remains an underlying sense of menace and threat which keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. This is added to by the fact that the police seem no better than the villains they're chasing. Even with Guy Pierce's seemingly sympathetically copper we're never really quite sure whether he is genuinely trying to help J or to manipulate him to get at his family. This creates a film where you are genuinely unsure quite what is going to happen at times and who will make it through to te closing credits.

Weaver's performance is more subtle than might at first appear and justifies her nomination. It is only in the closing stages when we see the lengths she will go to for her family and against those who cross her, that we see the real steel and control in the character. Frecheville has an equally hard task - not unlike the lead in Neds he has to hint at an inner world that is hidden behind a necessary protective facade of blankness. That this works is either down to his skill as an actor or because he is enough of a blank canvass for the viewer to project their own reactions onto.

The downside of this is that there isn't enough here to lend credibillity to J's final act character arc when he is transformed from passive survivor to controlling string-puller. Whilst you might be rooting for him, he no longer feels quite believable.

Overall - 7.5/10 A strong but flawed film that nonetheless grips.