Animal Kingdom (2010)

Teenage J's mother dies of an overdose, so he reaches out to her estranged family, who take him in. Turns out that his mother, despite being a junkie, showed good judgment in keeping her son away from his uncles and grandmother. The family take him in, but expect him to play his part in their dangerous war with the local corrupt police force.

Their "leader" and main interest of the cops, older brother Pope, just crackled with calm menace. I was tense every time he was on the screen. In contrast, J was so blank-faced as to make me wonder if the actor was simply a bad one -- but it seems to have been a deliberate characterization. Jacki Weaver, as the matriarch, turns in a performance that is chilling. For the first two-thirds or so, I didn't really see what the fuss over her was about (she's Oscar-nominated for this performance in the Supporting Actress category), but when she had to turn it on, she sure did. It's also in this last portion that the movie as a whole really comes together. Not that the film was bad or boring to that point, but the way things come to a head and then resolve was surprising and masterful. What I thought was merely an OK movie turned into a really good one.

B+