Wild, gritty, and sharp, Animal Kingdom has a ticking bomb for a heartbeat that pulsates through every scene.

| Original Score: B+ | Sep 9, 2017

Seldom is a debut feature handled with such assurance and intelligence

| Nov 13, 2013

Seldom is a debut feature handled with such assurance and intelligence

| Nov 13, 2013

An ambitious and effective thriller.

| Mar 1, 2011

Animal Kingdom is skilfully lit and edited and the performances are remarkable.

| Feb 28, 2011

Writer/director David Michod handles his material with great confidence, allowing some powerful acting.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 25, 2011

Utterly thrilling, Animal Kingdom exudes stunning depth and complexity.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Feb 24, 2011

This is maybe the nearest we're going to get to an Australian GoodFellas.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 24, 2011

Pungent scene by scene and bracing in its cumulative impact, Michôd's movie suggests what Aeschylus might have had in mind, if the House of Orestes had been fond of seafood barbeques.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 24, 2011

A small part of us finds this family endearing - revolting but endearing.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 23, 2011

It's not unique, but as a distillation of a well-worn genre, it's admirable.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 23, 2011

A dark rites-of-passage story meets lethal Shakespearean drama, with low-key performances that artfully get under the skin.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 22, 2011

Everyone flapping their traps about the "Oscar-calibre performances" in The Fighter - simmer down for a minute, will ya? Cos THIS is how you do a dirtball family.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 21, 2011

The naturalistic style Michod employs adds to the sense of dread. Is there no way out of this existence? To whom would it appeal?

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Sep 8, 2010

Dark and mesmerizing.

| Original Score: B+ | Sep 3, 2010

It's a remarkable film: gritty, gut-churning, thrillingly acted.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Aug 27, 2010

Writer-director David Michod creates a densely textured moral universe that makes good on his metaphoric title.

| Aug 27, 2010

Michôd shapes this film into a memorable character study about uncaged beasts.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 27, 2010

Animal Kingdom is a lean, patient crime thriller about one kid's transition from prey to predator.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Aug 27, 2010

The story meticulously unfurls like an apple carefully peeled in one long ribbon to reveal its rotten core.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 27, 2010