“Have you worked out where you fit?”
A throwaway question asked of our protagonist Joshua ‘J’ Cody, played by fresh faced newcomer James Frecheville, that ultimately encapsulates his struggle in David Michôd‘s gripping and atmospheric drama that sees family and crime intertwine.
“Animal Kingdom” kicks off as the drug overdose of his mother leaves ‘J’ seeking the guidance and direction of his grandmother and three uncles. There, he finds himself slowly immersed into their criminal world, something his mother had evidently steered him clear of when she was alive. And so she should for the Cody clan — grandmother Smurf, her three sons (Pope, Craig and Daz) and family associate Barry — are notorious bank robbers caught in a power struggle with the Armed Robbery Squad of Melbourne’s corrupt police force and tensions have reached an all time high.
The gang exhibits a strikingly creepy Oedipal complex with matriarch Smurf (Jacki Weaver), who’s loving, calm but at times malicious demeanor keeps her tethered gang of boys in line. Her eldest son Pope (Ben Mendelsohn) is an unstable leader who constantly blurs the lines between menacing sociopath and playful brother; middle child Craig (Sullivan Stapleton) wearing his heart on his sleeve, is tightly-strung but is a soldier for his family; the youngest Daz (Luke Ford) is a go-getter but seems to barely grasp the lifestyle he’s been born into; while associate Barry (Joel Edgerton) plays out as the grounded, reliable member of the gang who begins to grow disillusioned at the life he’s chosen.
This well-balanced dynamic of characters is what seduces the audience into the story with performances of Mendelsohn and Weaver as Pope and Smurf Cody particular standouts, both coming into their own as the police force strike the Cody clan in a cold, calculated and unexpected move that sets off a domino effect. Weaver’s arc, in fact, lies almost entirely in the film’s third act as she takes stranglehold of the story when her idealized family institution is threatened. Mendelsohn’s Pope, meanwhile, shadows the film throughout with the contrast between his subdued and low-key demeanor and his loud, explosive actions creating an unpredictable and fearsome character.
Frecheville is more or less the audience’s eyes into the clan and while his intimate performance often comes across as detached or void of emotion, it seemingly has more to do with the character finding his way than the actor’s performance. However different they seem to be, ‘J’ is still made of the same biological framework as his grandmother and uncles (nature vs. nuture) and, as the story progresses, he begins to show himself as a true Cody distinctively exhibiting his uncles’ traits: the youth and obedience of Daz, the will and industry of Craig and the resolve and imbalance of Pope.
Interestingly, taking a back seat to it all is the ever-reliable Guy Pearce whose well-mannered and well-intentioned detective, Nathan Leckie, cuts through the story with a cameo-like but integral arc. Targeting ‘J’ as a possible resolution to the war between the Codys and the police, Leckie provides the impetus for the unassured ‘J’s development with a memorable monologue about life, survival and natural order (seen briefly in the film’s trailer) and asking of him the question at the start of this review.
The film marks only the directorial debut of Michôd who confidently weaves his camera and immerses audiences in with the chilling score and popping sound design. He is also a part of the renegade Australian filmmaking crew, Blue Tongue Films — consisting of Nash Edgerton (“The Square”), Spencer Susser (“Hesher”), Joel Edgerton (co-scribe of “The Square” who’s starring in “The Thing” remake) and Luke Doolan (2009 Oscar-nominated short “Miracle Fish”) among others — whose somewhat counter-auteur-theory philosophy on filmmaking makes for an exciting future if this accomplished work is anything to go by.
“Animal Kingdom” is a haunting, slow-burning tale of loyalty and revenge that will, we promise, leave you breathless. While it still has plenty of room to sprawl, the gut-wrenching story enthralls at every turn of a corner in what is essentially a Greek tragedy dressed up as an Australian crime drama. It really is no wonder the film took home the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema at Sundance earlier this year. [A-]
“Animal Kingdom” opens in Australia on June 3 and in the U.S. on August 13.
