Animal Kingdom (2010) (Cinema City Visit 2011)

Animal Kingdom (2010)

As part of our Thriller Research we had the experience of going to Cinema City in Norwich. We went to Cinema City to watch an Australian film called Animal Kingdom which was released on the 25th of February 2010. The film is directed by David Michôd. The film, won an award called the "Grand Jury Prize" at Sundance.

Animal Kingdom - "Tells the story of seventeen year-old J (Josh) as he navigates his survival amongst an explosive criminal family and the detective who thinks he can save him." - INDb

Animal Kingdom has many different aspects of Generic Characters and also Locations in the thriller genre that show throughout the entire film. These are listed below:

Generic Characters:

• Cops
• Criminals
• Innocent Victims
• Characters with dark pasts
• Characters involved in twisted relationships
• Romantic triangles leading to murder
• Characters on the run
• Characters who use and deal with drugs
• Deviant women

Generic Locations:

• Interior of cars
• Narrow urban streets
• Wide open spaces
• Dimly lilt streets

Animal Kingdom has been one of my most memorable films I've watched this year. I highly enjoyed it, and I wouldn't mind watching it again.

Main Characters:
(click name to view image/info)

Actor/Actress            Character:

James Frecheville     Joshua 'J' Cody

Jacki Weaver             Janine 'Smurf' Cody

Luke Ford                   Darren Cody

Sullivan Stapleton      Craig Cody

Ben Mendelsohn        Andrew 'Pope' Cody

Joel Edgerton             Barry 'Baz' Brown

Laura Wheelwright     Nicky Henry

Anthony Ahern            Armed Robbery Detective          

My Most Memorable Moments:

The opening sequence/The title sequence when the title "Animal Kingdom" appears on top of a gold plate which has 3 loins engraved. One of the 3 loins is standing on top of a stone rock and is standing sightly above the other 2 loins. This represents that this loin, is more powerful and far more significant then the others. Also, as the title "Animal Kingdom" appears on top of the gold plate, we can tell that this film is going to be about a pack of "lions". I use the phase "pack of lions" because the family in "Animal Kingdom" all live together just like a pack of loins - They are dangerous, wild, uncontrollable beasts who will not show mercy at all with their innocent victims.


"The Family of Lions" - The Cody's

• No morals, no rules, no mercy
• Ruthless and manipulative behavior
• Hard to predict what the Family is going to do next - just like a wild animal

The Characters - Most Memorable

Janine 'Smurf' Cody

1) Janine 'Smurf' Cody (Actress: Jacki Weaver) has a mysterious, chilling, and appears as a very dark figure with a sweet, innocent presence throughout the film by using phases such as "sweetie","honey" and lastly "dear". No matter what her sons do she acts as if it happens on a daily basis. She also kisses her sons on the lips constantly throughout the film which could suggest past relationships with them. Janine 'Smurf' Cody reminds me of a character called "Marie Barone" (Actress: Doris Roberts) who is from the T.V. comedy "Everybody Loves Raymond". However, Janine 'Smurf' Cody is the complete opposite to "Marie Barone".

2) Joshua 'J' Cody (Actor: James Frecheville). Joshua doesn't speak as much as the other characters in the film, this is underacting and is very hard to do. He acts very awkwardly which can suggest that Joshua is careful about what he says, otherwise his family will come after him and that hes been thrown into an environment he doesn't fit into at all. 

3) Andrew 'Pope' Cody (Actor: Ben Mendelsohn) Andrew 'Pope' Cody is a very mischievous and dangerous character. During the film, he kills Nicky Henry (Joshua's Girlfriend) with an overdose of drugs. This tells us that he is brutal and emotionless as he doesn't hesitate when killing Joshua's girlfriend.

Camera Angles/Camera Shots

• Throughout the film, many Close Ups and Extreme Close Ups of the main characters where featured, these where used to represent key moments in the film.
• The film had many Point Of View Shots. These where used to give the audience the feel from the character's view and to empathize with that character. A great example of this is in the last few minutes of the film where Joshua shoots his uncle Pope. Also, nearly all of the Point Of View Shots where from the point of view of Joshua, this is to relate to his feelings and be put into the same situation which he is in.
• Lots of Shot Reverse Shot. These where used to show the character's responses to each other's actions.
• My most memorable camera shot was when the camera panned across a room at a Low Angle past a doorway. The whole film was very tense, you didn't know what would happen next! The film was jam-packed of suspense. Because of this, the panning across the room was very mysterious, you would have no idea what to expect, or what would happen in the scene. If you tried and guessed what would of happened, no matter how many guesses you would have - you'd still be wrong.
• The Low Angle Shot of Joshua's uncle Andrew 'Pope' Cody carrying Nicky Henry (Joshua's Girlfriend) down his driveway. This shot is very memorable for me, the slow motion used makes the scene very powerful and emotional.



Andrew 'Pope' Cody carrying Nicky Henry