Animal Kingdom

In Roman mythology, baby twins Romulus and Remus were abandoned in the wilderness to die and then were saved, being suckled by a she-wolf. Somehow in watching the movie Animal Kingdom this story has been brought to mind. James Frecheville plays Joshua Cody, a seventeen-year-old boy who has been kept away from the rest of his family, living alone with his drug addicted mother. His mother has just overdosed on heroin and not knowing where to go or what to do, J reaches out to his grandmother, the she-wolf of the Cody clan (Jacki Weaver). Matriarch to a gang of bank robbers, Janine Cody keeps her boys close and advises them shrewdly. She is sharp, intelligent and has connections. She has been living this life a long time.
 
An innocent until now, J sees why his mother has kept him apart, but with nowhere else to go he is desperately trying to find a way to fit in. His only refuge is his girlfriend Nicky played by Laura Wheelwright. She is a good girl from a good family, but she finds J’s uncles a bit dangerous and exciting. Soon she learns how truly dangerous they are and tries to convince her mother to let J stay with them. They like J, but all of this seems improper. Having a grown boy under their roof living with their daughter is too much.
 
From the very beginning of the film, the Cody family is under extreme pressure. The cops are watching them like a hawk and the family is starting to implode. The special unit that has been tracking them is being phased out and the cops are turning up the heat while they still can. When the police murder the leader of the Cody clan in cold blood, the boys begin to scatter without the leadership of the alpha male. Mother Cody, the old she wolf herself tries to keep them together. But the new alpha male is crazy and lacks common sense. Her family is in danger and she knows it.
 
Ben Mendelson plays the unstable “Pope”. He is trying to fill his brother’s shoes but frankly even his own mother doesn’t trust him. Guy Pearce plays a police detective who is trying to befriend J. He can see that he is not like the rest of the family and is honestly trying to help him find a way out. But J is lost and doesn’t know whom to believe. They may be wolves, but he is a member of the pack. This is a difficult choice for any young man to make.

When J is picked up by the police and held longer than any of the others, the family begins to distrust him. J is at a crossroads but doesn’t know which way to turn. Should he be loyal to the family or make a break now. And how can he really trust Pope? Or, his grandmother for that matter. J has just learned it’s a dog eat dog world and the question is which way will he run? Animal Kingdom is an intense look at the inner-circle of a crime family and Jacki Weaver will creep you out. She is the kind of mother Greek legends are made for.

Rating: First Run A look at the inner workings of a crime family