Animal Kingdom (2010)

Every year that I watch the Oscar ballot I hope there is a stand out film that I initially didn't care much about. This is that film. Usually a nomination in the acting category, primarily in the supporting actress category are very weak films. Ones with a fantastic dramatic spurt but either a bad script or bad editing, or some other major flaw that caused it to get ignored in the major categories.

I think the problem with this one is that foreign films with English speaking do very bad at the Oscars. There isn't a foreign film category, just a foreign LANGUAGE category. Therefore films like this fall through the cracks without much support from the production company for a publicity campaign. The bottom line is that this film is very good with performances as good if not better than Jacki Weaver's (which got the nomination).

The film is centered around a boy, we start with him in his living room with his dead mother, who has just O.D.'ed and he is looking for a place to live. Seventeen and turning to family he calls his grandmother [Jacki Weaver] who offers to take him in. Janine [Weaver] and her boys are criminals, and the police are hot on their tails. Ben Mendelsohn was incredible in this film. Not many performance jar me that much, and he really freaked me out. His encounters with Laura Wheelwright's character were chilling, and his interaction with our main character [played by James Frecheville] was fantastic. Guy Pearce [Memento] was actually kind of weak to me in this film. I can't explain it, but I didn't really like his acting.

It is disappointing that this film hasn't received more press, it is worth seeing. Be aware that this is definitely not a movie for kids.

Vote: 9/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1313092/

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