Monday, 12 December 2011
Animal Kingdom: initial notes
Animal Kingdom is a crime thriller, directed by David Michôd. It is the story of an Australian crime family, and seventeen year old J attempting to survive amongst them.
There were a few moments in the film which I thought were key in establishing this film as a thriller
For example, at the beginning where J's mother has died from a drug overdose, he sits next to her and watches the television. This connotes that this sort of thing is very normal to his every day life, and is not unusual. Drug addicts are generic characters of thriller films, and later on in the film J's uncles take drugs too.
Also, the shot where Poe is carrying J's girlfriend across the driveway is particularly poignant and critical in establishing the film as a thriller. This shot is in slow motion, which adds to the suspense, and there is non-ambient lighting shining through trees, creating patches of shadow which he walks through. This creates sinister shadows over his face.
I particularly liked the shot of J flicking peanuts at the wall near the beginning of the film. I felt this clearly displays his childlike aspects, and connotes that he is vulnerable and isolated. Also, the fact that the director used a close up just showing the hand flicking a peanut was particularly memorable for me, and close up shots such as this build tension so are generic in thriller films.
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Could you post under Label G321 Thriller Research. Well done for spotting the close up shot of Josh flicking the peanuts. You need to think about why this action is important in establishing the character of Josh. His mother is dead, he is watching a tacky day time quiz show on TV and seems completely detached from reality. This kind of detachment is a clue to Josh's nature and now I come to think about it anticpates the end of the film. See if you can interpret the subtext here and explain how the director establishes Josh's character in this opening sequence.
ReplyDeleteThe way Josh is introduced in the film is a strong clue to the way the director establishes his character and explicitly anticipates the end of the film - your post has given me this idea.
ReplyDeleteThink about the way Josh's impassiveness and detachment, this behaviour is an enigma throughout the film. Josh is watching a tacky day time TV quiz programme, flicking peanuts yet his mother is sitting beside him dead, he knows she's ead because he has contacted the emergency services.
Tarantino introduces Ordell Robbie and Louis Gara as kind of dead beat characters who are slouched on sofas. Ordell ends up shooting Beaumont, this action is captured in a long distance shot indicating Ordell's detachment from his emotions, whilst Louis shoots Melanie in broad day light and shows no remorse.
Josh's detachment in the opening minutes of the film is chilling and predicts what he does at the end.
Well done for discussing this aspect of Animal Kingdom.