On DVD and Blu-ray
Rated R for language, violence and drug abuse
After his mom dies of a drug overdose, Joshua, a 17 year old Australian (James Frecheville), reaches out to his maternal grandmother (the Oscar-nominated Jacki Weaver) for help. But then he quickly finds out his 3 uncles are violent thugs who deal drugs. Things get worse when they kill 2 young cops. Enter Detective Nathan Leckie (Guy Pearce) who sees Joshua as a way to bring the crime family down . . .
Frecheville is in nearly every scene as his dullness and timidity provide little to no interest. You can see why he'd behave in such an uninteresting manner, having been beaten down by life the way he has. But it doesn't make it accessible or noble. The uncles' murdering of innocent young people is nearly unwatchable and is another way the film stays at arm's length. The film comes alive when Pearce shows up (at around the 40-minute mark). His interrogation of Joshua immediately recalls the interrogation of the Nite Owl suspects in LA Confidential by Ed Exley. But that LA Confidential scene had urgency and panache, advanced the story, and was brilliantly acted. Besides the fascination of hearing Pearce's native Australian accent, there's little else there since the script falls hopelessly flat.
The title refers to people finding their place in the world. But by the time Joshua discovers where he belongs, it is far too little, way too late. As the quietly evil matriarch, the excellent Weaver manipulates everyone around by smothering everyone with kindness. The film does create tons of tension by taking it's time with certain scenes and having an unusual sound design. Dialogue and natural sounds drop out unpredictably in favor of a suspenseful score. It's not a bad film, but without any likable characters or potential heroes, lots of talent feels wasted. If only Ed Exley was around to take the film over. B-
Monday, March 28, 2011
Animal Kingdom - B-
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3 comments:
Surprised this wasn't better. Ed Exley is one of my favorite characters of all time.
This one gets about a B for me. The death of the girl is almost too much to take. As you say, there's no one here to like and nothing really sticks out besides Jacki Weaver. Between this, winter's bone, and black swan, last year was an interesting year for moms and family dynamics. forget mars needing moms, it seems like earth needs some too.
The movie was unsalvageable after the girlfriend's murder (especially the way it was done). It got even worse at the end where the legal system and police became hopelessly ineffectual. The last scene was supposed to be a release or provide relief but I had given up on the film way before that.
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