Guy Pearce plays the only honest cop in the Animal Kingdom.
All in the family
By John Esther
Seventeen-year-old Josh Cody (James Frecheville) has come to live with his four uncles (Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, Luke Ford, Sullivan Stapleton) and grandmother (Jacki Weaver) just about the time they become enemy number one to the Melbourne police.
A brotherhood of bank robbers, the police cannot nail the Cody clan so they decide to kill one of the uncles in broad daylight in a crowded parking lot. This ridiculous act is countered with the brothers doing something equally preposterous.
As the tensions and bodies mount, momma bear swarms around her cubs to demonstrably demonic effect while Leckie (Guy Pearce) struggles for justice in the concrete jungle.
Ridiculously awarded the Sundance Grand Jury prize for best international film, this mediocre Gala selection about a Melbourne crime family has its moments – the actors are quite good -- but it is down under inconsequential.
(Animal Kingdom screens June 23, 8 p.m., Regal Cinemas; June 25, 4:45 p.m., Regal Cinemas)
