This film has been a box office success -and to some extent a critic success- in France. Why so much passion for this film there? Because it represents a type of film that France likes to imagine it can do: popular, entertaining, well-crafted including on the special effects side, but ultimately much deeper than an American blockbuster.
And it is true that measured against that standard, the Animal Kingdom is more interesting. But it plays in a different segment. For better or worse, American blockbusters aim at providing "mindless entertainment", target teenagers and have little or no artistic intent. They are to film what McDonald's is to cuisine.
But if you try to cook actual cuisine, or make a real film, then you will be measured against that higher standard. And that's where Animal Kingdom falls short.
The main issue is that the story of the characters never extends beyond an excuse for a long physical transformation, almost as if the transformation scene in a werewolf movie had taken over the full movie. Don't get me wrong: there are some stories and some character development in the film, but it's very clear that they are the accessories of the transformation, as opposed to the transformation being the accessory of the story.
And it is true that measured against that standard, the Animal Kingdom is more interesting. But it plays in a different segment. For better or worse, American blockbusters aim at providing "mindless entertainment", target teenagers and have little or no artistic intent. They are to film what McDonald's is to cuisine.
But if you try to cook actual cuisine, or make a real film, then you will be measured against that higher standard. And that's where Animal Kingdom falls short.
The main issue is that the story of the characters never extends beyond an excuse for a long physical transformation, almost as if the transformation scene in a werewolf movie had taken over the full movie. Don't get me wrong: there are some stories and some character development in the film, but it's very clear that they are the accessories of the transformation, as opposed to the transformation being the accessory of the story.