Animal Kingdom (www.the-usher.com)

"I'm having trouble trying to find my positive spin. I'm usually very good at it. Usually it's right there, and I can just have it. But I'm having trouble finding it now. "

Realising what her family was capable of J’s (Frecheville) mother tried to keep him safe but when she overdosed on heroine, the seventeen year-old has no choice but to move in with his grandmother Janine (Weaver). There he meets his uncles Darren (Ford) and Craig (Stapleton) and leader of the Cody crime family Baz (Edgerton) but as the Police close in J is pulled into their activities. It is when the eldest of the Cody brothers, Andrew or Pope (Mendelsohn) as he is know, returns that J realises that that he might be in over his head and he cannot trust anyone.

While most of the world considers Australia to be a place for good neighbours, kangaroos and the home of Crocodile Dundee, the introduction of the Cody family is going to change all that.

When you ask the average filmgoer to name a film from Australia, ‘Crocodile Dundee’ will still be standard answer but there is much more to the Land Down Under than a film released in 1986. Critically acclaimed hits like ‘Muriel’s Wedding’, ‘Strictly Ballroom’, ‘Priscilla Queen of the Desert’, ‘Romper Stomper’, ‘Rabbit Proof Fence’, ‘The Proposition’ and ‘Shine’, cult classics like ‘Mad Max’ and ‘Dead Calm’ and blockbusters like ‘Moulin Rouge’, ‘Happy Feet’ and ‘Australia’, make OZ a hotbed of talent. ‘Animal Kingdom’ is set to join those critically acclaimed hits from the land of plenty.

We are used to seeing crime families in the cinema. Whether they are Italian, Irish, Mexican, Japanese, Chinese or British, organised crime families have terrorised the silver screen for decades and now it is time to introduce the Cody’s. Making their money from bank robberies, violent crime and drugs, the Cody Brothers and their associate Baz Brown are top of the Melbourne Police’s wanted list. With the Police themselves having to reign in their own attacks on organised crime in the coming months, the Armed Robbery Squad take the fight to Cody’s. Step forward Pope, the eldest Cody brother who decides to fight back and drag his seventeen year-old nephew into their war against the police. While he maybe young however, J understands exactly what is going on and holds the key bringing it all to an end. This of course comes with a terrible cost for the police and the family to bear but J has to see it through.

Modern and terribly foreboding, ‘Animal Kingdom’ is brought to life by some tremendous performances. Joel Edgerton, Luke Ford and Sullivan Stapleton as Baz Brown, Darren and Craig Cody draw you into this dysfunctional and cynical family. Ben Mendlesohn’s Pope is one of the most unstable and deplorable characters to grace the genre. James Frecheville’s J is the heartbeat of the film, narrating and driving the film to its riveting conclusion. There is also very good and understated support from the always excellent Guy Pearce. It is the performance of Oscar nominated Jacki Weaver as the family’s matriarchal mother Janine who quietly drives everything. This is a performance that builds throughout the duration of the film until her true colours and power are revealed with chilling consequences.

‘Animal Kingdom’ is a gritty, no-nonsense crime drama that will stay with you for a long time after. Making a real change from the usual America, British and Asian crime dramas, this is a film that will define Australian organised crime and make you want to see more of the Cody’s.

Interviews with David Michôd, Guy Pearce, Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, Jacki Weaver, James Frecheville, Laura Wheelwright, Sullivan Stapleton and Luke Ford
Audio Commentaries with David Michôd and Cast
Making Of
Trailer

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2011