Animal Kingdom - two legs and a gun

The opening scene shows Josh watching a TV Reality show with a woman on the couch next to him.  She appears to be asleep and it’s not until the paramedics arrive and Josh announces that she has overdosed on heroin that we realize there is something wrong.  He is totally calm and continues to watch TV even as the paramedics try to revive her.

This could be taken for callous but as we get to know Josh we realize that’s not the case and what we are really being told is that this boy has been in the same situation a million times before, thus giving us the emotional information we need to get inside Josh’s world and let him take us on his journey.  That’s very clever storytelling indeed.          

The end, however, does become complicated, or perhaps convoluted, or you could call it just plain confusing but, when you think about it later, it will all probably fall into place. But should we really have to work that hard when we go to the movies?  There’s nothing better than an ‘ah-ha’ moment but better in the theatre than on the walk back to the parking lot.  Methinks maybe the filmmakers got a little too clever this time.   

So what does this film have to say about the police taking out villains who they think will escape the judicial system, and Melbourne allowing criminals to become media darlings? 

As regards the former, and avoiding spoilers, this is definitely not a story Hollywood would dare to get away with and, as regards felons appearing on TV, if they have what it takes to become celebrities, then so be it, but they’d have to make it past quite a few AK 47s first.

Release date 13th August, 2010.

Miv Evans is a British businesswoman who relocated to Los Angeles in 2005. She previously had a comedy drama commissioned by BBC TV and sold her first film to REN Media International in 2008 which she wrote, directed and produced.

Films in 2010

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