"Animal Kingdom" is a highly respected Australian film that's apparently received a HUGE number of nominations for the Australian Film Awards--as well as an Oscar nomination for Jacki Weaver (as the matriarch of the family--who did a great job playing pure evil). And, I must say that technically speaking, it is a very good film. However, I must also say that it's a thoroughly unpleasant film that really had no payoff by the end. In many ways, it reminds me of "Winter's Bone"--though I think "Winter's Bone" handles similar material in a better and much more satisfying way.

The film centers on Josh (James Frecheville)--a very quiet and introverted young man who comes from an incredibly sick and twisted family. The film begins with his mother overdosing from drugs and he moves in with his grandmother and his uncles--and this new home is MUCH more destructive and sick! The uncles all sell drugs and are very violent men--and eventually the police home in on these sick folks and then things get REALLY crazy. I could say a lot more, but I don't want to ruin the suspense.

While I like films that fight against convention and formula, I had a problem with this film that you perhaps might not. I wanted all this sickness and dysfunction to somehow work out for the good and for there to be SOME sense of meaning. Instead, the ending just reinforced the complete lack of meaning and left me very cold. Well made but VERY depressing and unsatisfying--it's hard to like a movie where you really don't like anyone.

A rather unsatisfactory conclusion to a grim story about an Australian family of professional criminals doesn't mar the fact that Animal Kingdom is one interesting piece of cinema. Topping the film is Jacki Weaver who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, but lost in the Oscar sweepstakes to Melissa Leo for The Fighter who played a similar role as a family matriarch.

I guess the best thing you can compare Jacki Weaver's part of 'Smurf' Cody is that of Ma Barker in the USA during the wild and woolly Depression Thirties who raised quite the criminal clan herself. I also have to say that as an American who gets constantly put upon for all the gun violence in this country is to see another country step up and admit they've got a big problem in that direction as well. Animal Kingdom was shot in Melbourne and from what I can see, Melbourne of 2011 stands close comparison to Chicago of the Thirties.

Weaver's grandson James Frecheville comes to live with her after his mother takes a heroin overdose as she is his closest kin. Apparently dad isn't in the picture. Despite a lifestyle that did include some controlled substance abuse, Frecheville's mom did what she could to keep her kid away from her family. Now he gets an introduction to their way of life and it's quite the culture shock.

Melbourne PD detective Guy Pearce takes some interest in the kid both personally and as a witness to bring the Codys to justice. American audiences probably know Pearce best from LA Confidential where he played an American LAPD detective from the Fifties. The Codys have their hooks into the Melbourne PD, but not with Pearce and his crowd who seem to have a private war with the Codys who are treated like the famous gangsters of the American Thirties with a shoot first and no questions asked and the hell with due process, however that's constituted in the Aussie legal system.

Animal Kingdom gives foreign audiences a look at the dark underside of Australian criminal life. Weaver's performance is not to be missed.

ANIMAL KINGDOM is another slice of gruelling nastiness that comes to us courtesy of our Australian cousins. It's not quite as downbeat and depressing as SNOWTOWN, although it gets close at times. This elaborate thriller is about a sprawling family of ne'er-do-wells and no-good criminals and what happens when a young and innocent relation is brought into the fold.

It's not really the narrative that's important here, although there are a number of fresh situations and off-hand moments that make it stand out (that opener is a real clincher). It works best when delivering a series of shocks and sudden twists that the viewer certainly doesn't see coming. No, it's the characterisation where ANIMAL KINGDOM really shines; this is a film for actors, showcasing a number of realistic performances from the cast.

Ben Mendelsohn is the one who really stands out in his star-making turn as the thoroughly creepy guy at the top of the chain, while Joel Edgerton and Sullivan Stapleton bring depth to their otherwise thuggish roles. James Frecheville plays it quiet and understated as the lead although the reliable Guy Pearce shines as a cop. Jacki Weaver may play one of the most understated and nasty characters ever. It's a decent film, certainly more compelling than most things Hollywood put out these days.