It’s probably not ideal to follow Edgar Wright’s ‘Scott Pilgrim,’ but the first full trailer for David Michôd’s much-anticipated Melbourne-set crime drama “Animal Kingdom” has been unveiled exhibiting a dark, raw take on the genre with a lot of promise.
The film stars the likes of Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, Guy Pearce, Jacki Weaver and newcomer James Frecheville and centers on a 17 year old boy who finds himself caught between his criminal family and a cop who thinks he can save him. Here’s the full synopsis:
“Welcome to the jungle known as the Melbourne underworld. “Animal Kingdom” uses this edgy locale to unspool a gripping tale of survival and revenge.
Pope Cody (Mendelsohn), an armed robber on the run from a gang of renegade detectives, is in hiding, surrounded by his roughneck friends and family. Soon, Pope’s nephew, Joshua “J” Cody (Frecheville), arrives and moves in with his hitherto-estranged relatives. When tensions between the family and the police reach a bloody peak, “J” finds himself at the center of a cold-blooded revenge plot that turns the family upside down.”
Michôd’s work drew some exciting comparisons to the masters of the crime genre (Coppola, Scorsese and Tarantino) after its Park City premiere, where it took home the Dramatic World Cinema Jury Prize. Weaver and Mendelsohn, who portray the sinister matriarch of the family and her eldest son, also earned particular praise from the already “flawless ensemble cast ” which includes the perennially underrated, underutilized pair of Pearce and Edgerton (the latter could finally have a breakout role in the upcoming “The Thing” remake).
Sony Pictures Classic acquired “Animal Kingdom” soon after Sundance though there’s been no word yet on a stateside release. In Australia, meanwhile, the film has been pushed back from its original showdown with “Iron Man 2” in the first week of May to June 3rd.
