Despite being no saint herself, Julia Cody has shielded her seventeen-year-old son, Joshua "J" Cody, from her Melbourne-based criminal relatives who they have not seen in years. After Julia dies in front of J's eyes from a self-inflicted heroin overdose, J, who is slightly detached from life, feels he has no choice but to contact his maternal grandmother, Janine "Smurf" Cody, the family matriarch, for a place to live. Smurf rules the family with a borderline incestuous love over her three sons, the quietly menacing Andrew "Pope" Cody, the hyperactive Craig Cody, and the barely of age Darren Cody. Pope and his best friend, Barry "Baz" Brown, are armed robbers, with Darren their up and coming apprentice, while Craig is a mid-level drug dealer. Melbourne's Armed Robbery Squad is after specifically Pope, who is hiding out. But when the standoff between the Cody’s and the Armed Robbery Squad is brought up a notch, all-out war ensues, with some casualties and J caught in the middle. The ... Written by Huggo (Courtesy of Internet Movie Database)
I am not one afraid to screen a film that may be off of critic’s radar, although it is my hope that when I do I am rewarded with a great film experience. In the case of ANIMAL KINGDOM a film that from the trailer would be more of a film about a heist than a film about a dysfunctional family, moves at a methodical pace having you believe everything will work out well leading you to a heart-wrenching twist. I would also have to say Jacki Weaver who played Janine “Smurf" Cody had an outstanding performance. So for ANIMAL KINGDOM, I give it 3.2 stats of 5.
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