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Animal Kingdom

Australia

2010

112 Min
Color
2.35:1
English
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
  • 1
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DIR David Michôd

EXEC Vincent Sheehan, Bec Smith

PROD Liz Watts

SCR David Michôd

DP Adam Arkapaw

CAST Guy Pearce, Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, Luke Ford, Jacki Weaver, James Frecheville, Sullivan Stapleton, Dan Wyllie, Anthony Hayes

ED Luke Doolan

PROD DES Josephine Ford

MUSIC Antony Partos

Sundance (World Cinema Dramatic Competition): Jury Prize, Stockholm (Competition): Best Screenplay, Rotterdam (Bright Future), !F Istanbul (Hit Films), Cine//B (Australia: Imperfect Paradise)

Synopsis

Welcome to the jungle known as the Melbourne underworld. Animal Kingdom uses this edgy locale to unspool a gripping tale of survival and revenge.

Pope Cody, an armed robber on the run from a gang of renegade detectives, is in hiding, surrounded by his roughneck friends and family. Soon, Pope’s nephew, Joshua “J” Cody, arrives and moves in with his hitherto estranged relatives. When tensions between the family and the police reach a bloody peak, “J” finds himself at the center of a cold-blooded revenge plot that turns the family upside down.

Wielding a formidable cinematic lexicon, writer/director David Michôd shows complete command of every frame as he shifts between simmering intensity and gut-wrenching drama. There isn’t a false note in the film as it follows through on the tantalizing promise displayed in his short films and unleashes a fierce new voice in Australian cinema. —Sundance Film Festival

Wall

Displaying 4 of 82 wall posts.
Picture of adina

adina

18Mar13

great concept but the movie itself was just ok

Picture of Fabio Di Felice

Fabio Di Felice

19Feb13

Una sorpresa continua. Il ritmo è formidabile, i colpi di scena notevoli e i personaggi caratterizzati in modo perfetto. Un ottimo gangster thriller dove non c'è spazio per i buoni.

Picture of Sam Everett

Sam Everett

10Jan13

One of the best Australian films, up there with "Wake in Fright".

Picture of Gregory Kelly

Gregory Kelly

5Jan13

After watching this film, I penned my first ever short film - Contingency. It flooded my mind with nature vs nurture concepts, that in itself opens up a big can of worms.

Related Films

Fans

Displaying 5 of 508 fans.

Articles

Our roundup of essays and articles on this film.
W184

NY Film Critics, Australia's 2010 and More

By David Hudson on December 12, 2010

And on it rolls. David Fincher's The Social Network has taken the top awards from the New York Film Critics Circle: Best Film and Director

read article
W184

"Animal Kingdom"

By David Hudson on August 9, 2010

David Michôd's Animal Kingdom screens tonight at 9 at the Walter Reade Theater in New York as part of the Film Comment Selects series before

read article
W184

2010 So Far, Part 2. Random Roundups

By David Hudson on April 13, 2010

More of a supplement to Part 1 than a second half, this collection of roundups on films screening at Sundance, Rotterdam, Berlin and SXSW this

read article

Showtime Adapting David Michod's ANIMAL KINGDOM For The Small Screen

By Twitchfilm.com on December 19, 2011
We have not been shy about our love for David Michod’s Animal Kingdom in these pages, the Sundance winning Australian crime drama that netted Jacki Weaver an Oscar nomination. Based on a real life Melbourne
read on Twitchfilm.com

ANIMAL KINGDOM UK BluRay review

By Twitchfilm.com on December 16, 2011
Animal Kingdom might look small-scale on paper, but David Michôd’s moody Australian crime drama has a fairly broad scope. The film tracks the bickering and feuding between a Melbourne family of armed robbers
read on Twitchfilm.com

ANIMAL KINGDOM Review

By Twitchfilm.com on May 17, 2011
[Tomorrow is the strongest release day of the year and so we are taking the opportunity to pull our reviews of the key new release titles back up to the top of the stack. Our thanks to Ryland Aldrich……
read on Twitchfilm.com

David Michôd talks Sundance selection

By Twitchfilm.com on May 17, 2011
The man with the most famous circumflex in Australian filmmaking – and the bane of sub-editors everywhere – David Michôd, bounced back into headlines again last week with the news that not one – but two
read on Twitchfilm.com

Sundance 2010: First Teaser Arrives For David Michôd's ANIMAL KINGDOM

By Twitchfilm.com on April 30, 2011
Welcome to the jungle known as the Melbourne underworld. Animal Kingdom uses this edgy locale to unspool a gripping tale of survival and revenge.Pope Cody, an armed robber on the run from a gang of renegade
read on Twitchfilm.com

ANIMAL KINGDOM Returns To Cinemas In Awards Afterglow!

By Twitchfilm.com on April 29, 2011
In the past week Animal Kingdom’s diminutive crime matriarch Janine ‘Smurf’ Cody — played by Australian acting queen bee Jacki Weaver — has been getting a lot of awards notice, capped off by a well-deserved
read on Twitchfilm.com

Australian Crime Drama ANIMAL KINGDOM Sweeps The AFI Awards

By Twitchfilm.com on April 29, 2011
Awards season is upon us and Australia have just handed out their biggest prizes with happy results, indeed, for David Michôd’s Sundance winner Animal Kingdom.Nominated for a whopping eighteen awards Animal
read on Twitchfilm.com

A New Trailer Plus Caravaggio-Inspired Poster For Sundance Winner ANIMAL KINGDOM

By Twitchfilm.com on April 29, 2011
[I’m bumping this back to the top of the page as I hadn’t originally realized that this post included the new theatrical trailer for the film. It’s fantastic. Watch it now.]Australian poster designer Jeremy
read on Twitchfilm.com

US Trailer For Sundance Winner ANIMAL KINGDOM

By Twitchfilm.com on April 29, 2011
David Michôd’s Animal Kingdom really is that good. A slow burning, richly detailed of a low level Australian crime family slowly, inevitably decomposing and turning on one another, it is one of the most
read on Twitchfilm.com

ANIMAL KINGDOM Gets Straight Edge U.S. Poster!

By Twitchfilm.com on April 29, 2011
On the eve of Animal Kingdom’s gala screenings at the LA film Festival, Sony Pictures Classics has released the US poster for David Michôd’s Australian crime drama. It’s an interesting effort from Sony
read on Twitchfilm.com

Sundance Winner ANIMAL KINGDOM Finds A US Home!

By Twitchfilm.com on April 29, 2011
That Australian crime thriller Animal Kingdom would get a release here in North America was pretty much a sure thing. When you win the big prize at Sundance and people compare a debut film maker to Martin
read on Twitchfilm.com

ANIMAL KINGDOM teaser poster roars

By Twitchfilm.com on April 29, 2011
As far as debuting your first feature goes, Australian writer-director David Michôd has enjoyed a pretty astounding first week, with universal rave reviews and a US distribution deal reportedly looming
read on Twitchfilm.com

ANIMAL KINGDOM Review

By Twitchfilm.net on August 12, 2010
[Tomorrow is the strongest release day of the year and so we are taking the opportunity to pull our reviews of the key new release titles back up to the top of the stack. Our thanks to Ryland Aldrich…
read on Twitchfilm.net

David Michôd talks Sundance selection

By Twitchfilm.net on July 16, 2010
The man with the most famous circumflex in Australian filmmaking – and the bane of sub-editors everywhere – David Michôd, bounced back into headlines again last week with the news that not one – but two
read on Twitchfilm.net

Sundance 2010: First Teaser Arrives For David Michôd's ANIMAL KINGDOM

By Twitchfilm.net on July 16, 2010
Welcome to the jungle known as the Melbourne underworld. Animal Kingdom uses this edgy locale to unspool a gripping tale of survival and revenge.Pope Cody, an armed robber on the run from a gang of renegade
read on Twitchfilm.net

ANIMAL KINGDOM teaser poster roars

By Twitchfilm.net on July 16, 2010
As far as debuting your first feature goes, Australian writer-director David Michôd has enjoyed a pretty astounding first week, with universal rave reviews and a US distribution deal reportedly looming
read on Twitchfilm.net

Sundance 2010: ANIMAL KINGDOM Review

By Twitchfilm.net on July 16, 2010
[Our thanks to Ryland Aldrich for the following review.]One of the most popular films at this year’s Sundance Festival – and winner of the World Cinema Dramatic Grand Jury prize – has been David Michôd’s
read on Twitchfilm.net

Sundance Winner ANIMAL KINGDOM Finds A US Home!

By Twitchfilm.net on July 16, 2010
That Australian crime thriller Animal Kingdom would get a release here in North America was pretty much a sure thing. When you win the big prize at Sundance and people compare a debut film maker to Martin
read on Twitchfilm.net

A New Trailer Plus Caravaggio-Inspired Poster For Sundance Winner ANIMAL KINGDOM

By Twitchfilm.net on July 16, 2010
[I’m bumping this back to the top of the page as I hadn’t originally realized that this post included the new theatrical trailer for the film. It’s fantastic. Watch it now.]Australian poster designer Jeremy
read on Twitchfilm.net

ANIMAL KINGDOM Gets Straight Edge U.S. Poster!

By Twitchfilm.net on July 16, 2010
On the eve of Animal Kingdom’s gala screenings at the LA film Festival, Sony Pictures Classics has released the US poster for David Michôd’s Australian crime drama. It’s an interesting effort from Sony
read on Twitchfilm.net

US Trailer For Sundance Winner ANIMAL KINGDOM

By Twitchfilm.net on July 16, 2010
David Michôd’s Animal Kingdom really is that good. A slow burning, richly detailed of a low level Australian crime family slowly, inevitably decomposing and turning on one another, it is one of the most
read on Twitchfilm.net

Lists

Displaying 5 of 322 lists.

Reviews

Displaying 4 of 7

UNTITLED

By Cody Hoskins on November 8, 2012

The gritty and realistic tone and look of this Australian crime drama inspired by real events keeps me on edge throughout the time as it portrays a teenage boy caught up in a dilemma on dangerous ground…  read review

Sauvage mais inexpressif

By hubertg​uillaud on February 19, 2012

Dans ce beau portrait de famille, semblable à des fauves (à le ralenti des baisers à la chef de meute, qui rappelle le cinéma animalier ! et qui donne à l’ensemble un parfum musqué, sauvage), David…  read review

ANIMAL KINGDOM

By Daniel A. DiCenso on September 3, 2011

It may have started as a penal colony but, for whatever reason, it’s hard for outsiders to think of Australia as a place with its own brand of violent criminals. To many it remains a land of beaches…  read review

La loi de la jungle

By Theolin​i on May 6, 2011

Il arrive de temps en temps que d’Australie, ou d’autres pays anglophones, proviennent des films qu’on croirait issus du moule hollywoodien. Animal Kingdom, grand prix à Sundance cette année, en fait…  read review

Forum

Displaying 2 discussion topics.

Ending Question

4 posts by 4 people over 1 year ago

The Decline Of The Gangster Genre.

14 posts by 10 people about 2 years ago