Animal Kingdom (2010)

Midnight Oil. Crocodile Dundee. Yahoo Serious. Men at Work. Elle Macpherson. Australia has given us a lot of great entertainment over the years, but what has the continent/country done for us lately? Well, they recently provided us with one of 2010's most acclaimed films, Animal Kingdom.

As Animal Kingdom begins, 17 year old Josh, a.k.a. J (James Frecheville) is seen sitting next to his mother watching the Aussie version of Deal or No Deal. Unfortunately, his mother has just overdosed on heroin. Not knowing where to turn, Josh calls his grandmother (Golden Globe nominee Jacki Weaver), which leads him into a life of crime.

If you think you have been to some awkward family reunions, your experience would likely pale in comparison to J's. Living with J and his grandmother are his three uncles, all involved in one crime or another, be it armed robbery or drug dealing.

When one of the family's associates is killed by the police, the uncles retaliate by offing a few officers themselves. J finds himself in hot water with the police as a result, and for the rest of the film must wrestle with the question of whether he should stay loyal to his family, or comply with the authorities for the sake of his own safety.

James Frecheville, though still a high schooler at the time of filming, delivers a fine performance as J. It is a very subdued performance, which really helps the film, as you never quite know which way he is leaning. He has a real poker face.

Guy Pearce (L.A. Confidential, Memento) is excellent as Nathan Leckie, the detective who continually implores J to help him put his uncle behind bars. Unlike a lot of portrayals of police officers, Pearce's Leckie comes off as very sympathetic towards J.

Portraying Janine, a.k.a. "Smurf," the mother of this dysfunctional unit, Jacki Weaver comes off as sweet one moment, and downright sinister the next. This is no easy task, and Weaver was definitely worthy of her recent best supporting actress Golden Globe nomination.

Truth be told, there is nothing particularly revolutionary in Animal Kingdom. There have been a lot of other crime dramas that have dealt with similar such issues. But Animal Kingdom just seems to do it better than most. I don't know if it is the superior acting (particularly from Jacki Weaver and Guy Pearce), or if it is those irresistible Aussie accents, or perhaps it is a combination of both. Either way, Animal Kingdom is definitely a film to check out. Don't just take my word for it though. Quentin Tarantino recently named it his third favourite movie of 2010 behind Toy Story 3 and The Social Network.

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars