Animal Kingdom

Any Darwinian inference to get made about the title of David Michod's exciting and decidedly unfussy Aussie mobster film is completely valid.  Only the strongest and fittest survive in this Melbourne underworld drama.  And what at times feels like just another riff on the GoodFellas or The Sopranos template of family crime dramas there's a surprising and endearing non-b.s. tone to the whole thing and an authentic camaraderie between the actors.  And so we enter the world of the Cody family through the eyes of innocent young Josh (played by newcomer James Frecheville.)  His mother has just died of a heroin overdose, and is soon shipped off under the care of his grandmother Janine (a terrific Jacki Weaver-- more on her later.)  With little knowledge of the ins and outs of the family's dealing, Josh comes up to speed quickly.

There's his uncles to contend with, a shifty mix of unstable men, the shifty cops at bay, as well as the good ones.  Ruminating to closely on the plots circumstances I believe might diminish a lot of the power of Animal Kingdom, which won the World Cinema Prize at this years Sundance Film Festival.  But much of this gritty film focuses on the moral choices young Josh must make.  It's a classic struggle of family loyalty versus the right thing to do, and the film rightfully never takes the easy path, as it slowly and carefully maps out the path Josh goes on.  There's a palpable fear, especially as the body count rises, and even Josh's innocent girlfriend (Laura Wheelright) becomes a target, proving this isn't going to be a happily-ever-after Hollywood film.  Director Michod with great authority presents a mobster world that feels far truer and more lived-in than the cinema often provides, avoiding cliches or any winks to the audience.

The ensemble cast in perfect Darwinian fashion are all survivors and ready for the challenge; there really isn't a weak link here.  The most heralded on these shores is surely Guy Pearce playing an honest cop who gives young Josh an outlook for his life, should he choose to accept it.  Pearce, always a strong asset to any filmmaker, is wonderful, eagerly pouncing and at ease with Michod's bull-free tone.  The strongest link, and thus the strongest to survive here or anywhere else is Weaver.  In a performance of extreme subtlety and dimension, she creates a woman who is on the outset so compassionate and benign, it may take another viewing to fully be able to revel when her predictable Lady MacBeth moment takes place.  Make no mistake this sweet and lovable grandmother type will eat her young and anyone else too.  The performance is almost too delicate and juicy that I crave to spend more time with this woman, even though I may fear it as well.  B+