Based in Australia, Animal Kingdom is a brilliantly tense and dark piece of film. A seventeen year old boy, Joshua Cody (James Frecheville), loses his mother to heroin and moves in with his grandma Janine (Jackie Weaver) and his uncles, the criminal side of the family that his mother spent her whole life trying to keep him away from. Due to her passing away he is instantly drawn into their way of life. The only person able to help him is police detective Leckie, but his uncles and grandma do all they can to keep him away from Joshua.Though it's not always engaging and can at times be slow, overall it all comes together and establishes itself among great Australian films. Great performances from Jackie Weaver, Guy Pearce, Joel Edgerton, as the charismatic uncle Barry, and Ben Mendelsohn, as the psychotic unlce 'Pope', help hold this film together. It's not really an insight into Australia's crime problems but it's still a great story nonetheless. 4 stars.
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