AustLit

Director: David Michôd

Running Time: 108 min.

Animal Kingdom (2010) by David Michôd embodies the sentiment that you cannot choose your family. James Frecheville plays J, a seventeen-year-old who is displaced after his mother dies from a heroin overdose. Moving in with grandmother “Smurf” (Jacki Weaver), J is pulled into the familys criminal activities alongside his three uncles. Films in the 90s and 2000s present a new focus on social issues within domestic settings such as that of Js family in lower socio economic circumstances (Ellis). In this crime fiction, audiences once again see corrupt law enforcement and morally ambiguous characters. The film will have audiences debating who the real victim is: J as victim of his family or the family as victim of a broken system. “Loosely based on the Pettingill family and the 1988 Walsh Street killings in Melbourne,” Animal Kingdom focuses on the gritty, suburban violence and strips away any hint of glamour and thrill associated with city-based crime films (Goldsmith et al. 99). The film was  well-received and performed well for a local feature, earning $1.8 million in the first fortnight of its release (Barber). The naturalistic depiction of desperate characters, tension fuelled atmosphere, and surprising plot twists justify the films Sundance Jury Prize as well as the attention of its local audience (Goldsmith et al. 100).