Kristin Reviews Animal Kingdom

Jackie Weaver was nominated for a Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in Animal Kingdom, an Australian drama about a teen who ends up living with his grandmother and career criminal uncles after his mother dies of a heroin overdose. The movie itself is pretty slow-moving and difficult to get into. The teen, Josh (or “J”), is a quiet, contemplative lad with no apparent criminal aspirations of his own. Although he rarely speaks, he seems to want a normal, uncomplicated life. And good for him. The problem is, he is so quiet and contemplative, the audience never really gets a chance to like him, or care about him, or identify with him. So, while there is finally some suspense toward the end of the story, it is tempered by the fact that there is no investment, on the part of the viewer, in the outcome.

This is fair enough, I suppose. Other mediocre movies have, in the past, still contained performances that were remarkable enough to be worthy of a gold statue. In this case, however, Jackie Weaver, as J’s grandmother, does nothing even remotely noteworthy. Her character barely appears in the film, and when she does, she is barely relevant. There is no gripping drama to her part. She does not exude the kind of charisma that draws the viewer’s eye to her every time she is on screen. While her character makes a decision that most viewers would consider unthinkable, neither the script nor Weaver’s performance give it the kind of weight one would expect from an Oscar nominee.

Frankly, I was baffled by this nomination. I thought, “maybe I watched the wrong movie.” But no. Jackie Weaver was nominated for an insignificant role in a barely entertaining film. Had I not watched Animal Kingdom specifically to see her performance, and thus paid special attention to it, I would have forgotten the movie and the characters in it shortly after it ended and never given it a second thought. Bad call, Academy. Bad call.

-Kristin
2.9.2011