Animal Kingdom is a horrible slog.
The film, set in the lower-middle-class world of a family of Australian bank robbers, tells the story of a 17 year old boy. The boy finds himself immersed in this world, and he must learn to negotiate it. The character, played by James Frecheville as a large, awkward kid just a few protein shakes away from hulking, is as dour and confused and scared a protagonist as you’re likely to find in a major crime film. Oh, and he hides all this dourness, confusion, and fright behind a mask of emotionless indifference.
Listen, if I want to spend an hour and a half with dour, confused, and emotionless adolescents, I’ll volunteer to help out at my local high school. I’m watching a movie, here: entertain me.
So anyway, Animal Kingdom’s got this kid and he’s frightened and withdrawn and all that. Not much fun, right? Well, at least the movie makes up for with a grainy look, an ugly color scheme, and absolutely zero comic relief. I mean, come on – this thing’s a homework assignment, not a night at the pictures.
Is Animal Kingdom well played? Sure. Does it do all the things it tries to do? Yes. Is it a grind? Absolutely. Animal Kingdom is the longest, most painful grind at the movies that I’ve experienced in quite some time. Pass this one by.
2 comments:
You are kidding right? Did we watch the same movie, because this was pretty darn good. There was a lot of tension and was not as slow as you are making it out to be. This is a great neo-noir movie. DO NOT SKIP IT!
I know I'm in the minority on this one, but it just didn't speak to me.
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