Aug 14, 2010 By Chris Tinkham

In Animal Kingdom, writer/director David Michôd’s thrilling Melbourne-set family crime drama, Australian newcomer James Frecheville plays 17-year-old Josh Cody, a brooding, taciturn man-child caught between the law and his family’s illicit activities. With senior officer Nathan Leckie (Guy Pearce) coercing Josh to spill what he knows about the recent murder of two police officers, and Josh’s intimidating uncle, Pope (Ben Mendelsohn), pressuring him to keep his mouth shut, Josh’s words remain few throughout the film, but the weight of his fears are readable in his face and body language. More