Here is the cinematic definition of a slow-boil thriller. David Michôd directs “Animal Kingdom”, which ranks as one of the best Australian exports of the past decade and you should definitely go out of your way to find it.
It tells the story of Joshua (“J”), a quiet young man whose family is made up of violent criminals. When two cops are murdered, he finds himself at the center of the investigation led by Detective Leckie (Guy Pearce). The police sense J is the weakest member of the pride and decide to target him for information. J’s family begin to distrust him and he is soon stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Think low-budget “Goodfellas” meets “The Firm”, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Sounds great doesn’t it?
Well, perhaps it falls short of greatness by a smidge. “Animal Kingdom” is a very morose movie which I cannot imagine enjoying in repeat viewings. However, what it does, it does very skillfully and patiently. I can’t think of a film that turns the vice much slower than this one. By the end credits, you just want to let out a big sigh of relief that the tension is over.
The director clearly wears his influences on his sleeve. The one I noticed most clearly was the aforementioned PTA nods. There are shots that feel almost directly lifted from “Boogie Nights” or “Magnolia”. Hey, if you’re going to copy a style, you can’t do much better than P.T. Anderson.
I also want to point out a great turn by Guy Pearce – a consistently great actor who isn’t afraid to slum it in smaller movies from time to time. Come to think of it… The entire, generally unknown, cast of “Animal Kingdom” is top notch. This is absolutely worth a spot in your DVD queue.
