Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Animal Kingdom: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie Review

It's a Jungle on Those Beaches

Reviewed by Michael Reuben May 23, 2017

It took a while for me to warm up to TNT's Animal Kingdom, which debuted on June 16, 2016, and concluded its initial season on August 9. I was a big fan of the 2010 Australian crime thriller on which the series is based, written and directed by David Michôd, who is listed as an executive producer of the U.S. series but appears to have little or no direct involvement. Michôd's film was a grim, gritty drama about a Melbourne-based crime family presided over by a cheerful matriarch with a gargoyle's grin (an Oscar-nominated performance by Jacki Weaver). The TV adaptation, developed by Jonathan Lisco (Southland) and overseen by Lisco and fellow Yank John Wells (Shameless , ER and The West Wing), not only transposes Michôd's story and characters to America, but also gives them an overlay of California glamour—Goodfellas meets Baywatch. On first acquaintance, the four squabbling brothers of the American Cody family suggest an updated version of the bank-robbing surfers in the original Point Break: a bunch of bros bucking the system and enjoying the rush. As their domineering mom, Ellen Barkin initially seems more like an aging biker chick, a post-menopausal refugee from Sons of Anarchy.

But then . . .

It turns out that Lisco and Wells haven't lost any of Michôd's pessimistic grit; they just take their time getting there. Their Animal Kingdom lures you in with scenic beachfront vistas, a prettier cast than the original and more explicit sex than one usually finds on basic cable, but it's all a setup for the multiple wallops that land with brutal accuracy as the season progresses.

As in Michôd's film, the series revolves around the youngest boy in the extended Cody clan, 17-year-old Joshua or "J" (Finn Cole), who is the grandson of the family's leader, Janine Cody (Barkin), known to everyone as "Smurf". (The origin of the nickname is explained in a late episode.) J's mother is Smurf's only daughter, Julia, who has just died of a heroin overdose after a lifelong battle with addiction that, we are initially led to believe, is the reason she was exiled from the Cody household. As it turns out, there were other reasons, but J doesn't know that when his grandmother gives him a new home in her rambling, gated household. There J joins his four uncles, each of whom has his own residence but all of whom spend most of their time at Smurf's because they've never really left home.

The oldest Cody boy is Andrew (Shawn Hatosy), generally known as "Pope", who is also Julia's twin brother. Recently paroled from a prison sentence for bank robbery, Pope retains the wary demeanor of an inmate, which is only intensified by his history of mental illness. Smurf goes to extraordinary lengths to administer the medication required to control Pope's symptoms, but even then his eyes remain vacant and distracted, as if he is listening to inner voices. Pope does brighten up a little around Catherine (Daniella Alonso), a childhood friend now married to Pope's younger brother Baz (Scott Speedman)—but Pope would like to change that.

In Pope's absence, Baz has become the brothers' de facto leader, but he continues to feel insecure about his position in the Cody hierachy, because, alone among the siblings, Baz is adopted. Though he initially seems the most likable and "normal" of the brothers, Baz gradually reveals an inner psychology that is just as dangerous as that of his older brother—maybe even more so because Baz conceals his darkness under a handsome face and a sunny exterior. He does have a gift for planning crimes, though, and the latter half of the season is devoted to Baz's elaborate scheme for the largest heist the Codys have ever attempted.

The younger two brothers, Craig (Ben Robson) and Deran (Jake Weary), aren't nearly as smart as their older brothers, and they're both impulsive thrill seekers, though with different temperaments. Craig is a tall slab of tattooed beef cake, usually found with a coke straw up his nose and a woman (or several) on his arm or lap. He lives life like a party, and his lack of self-doubt gives him the ability (as Smurf reassures him) to do things that his brothers cannot. Deran, by contrast, is filled with uncertainty and self-loathing, which gives him a nasty edge of unpredictability. Some of his angst results from being the youngest, but there are other reasons.

J enters this predators' den with an observant wariness beyond his years, the product of growing up as the son of a junkie. He has two anchors of normalcy outside the criminal family into which Smurf is aggressively recruiting him. One is his girlfriend, Nikky (Molly Gordon), who is herself tempted by the surface sheen of the Cody brothers' riotous life style. The other is a high school teacher, Alexa Anderson (Ellen Wroe), whose interest in J initially seems like genuine concern but quickly intensifies past the point of propriety.

Not surprisingly, the Cody family's long history of crime and their ruthless elimination of anyone who might pose a threat to their enterprise has attracted the attention of law enforcement. A police detective, Det. Sandra Yates (Nicki Micheaux), has been tracking the family's activities for years, and she has become obsessed with bringing them down. The arrival of J seems to present her with a new opening, as it did for Guy Pearce's cop in the original Australian film. But Det. Yates is far less kindly, and certainly less concerned about ethical policing, in her efforts to seduce J away from his new family.

Barkin's Smurf presides over her empire of petty crime with a practiced eye. She may bake pies and make meatloaf for her boys, but domestic activities are a cover for near-constant manipulation, as she controls her brood by alternately giving affection, then withholding it, and routinely pitting one brother against the other. As the gang plots and pursues its largest and most daring caper to date (it involves stacks of cash moving through nearby Camp Pendleton on its way to ATMs aboard ships at sea), Smurf secretly pursues a private project leading into a buried past of which her boys know nothing, with results that are both revealing and tragic. Despite her repeated admonition that "there are no secrets in this family", Smurf has huge secrets of her own, as does each of her sons. By the end of the season, every one of them has done something terrible that he or she dare not reveal.

Animal Kingdom: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The lead cinematographer for Animal Kingdom is Loren Yaconelli, a veteran of Shameless and several other premium cable original series, although the pilot was shot by Daniel Moder (The Normal Heart), who established the visual style. Specific information about the shooting format was unavailable, but it has the clarity, sharpness and detail of digital photography, which is what one would expect from a contemporary TV series. Warner and TNT have distributed the ten episodes of Season One over two 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-rays (although the episode numbers are somewhat confusing, because the first two episodes, "Pilot/We Don't Hurt People", were broadcast as single two-hour premiere and are presented on disc as Episode 1). The image features solid blacks, stable primaries, a varied palette and a surface gleam that makes the Codys' world seem all the more inviting, despite the constant deception and betrayal (not to mention the occasional murder). Except for a few fleeting instances of aliasing, I did not spot any obvious interference or distortion.

As they so frequently do with TV on Blu-ray, both Warner and TNT continue to utilize low average bitrates—here, about 14 Mbps, with some episodes faring better and some worse—while refusing to exploit all of the available space. Each of the BD-50s in this two-disc set has at least 10 GB of unused space. Digital origination gives the compressionist room to maneuver, and the fact that the standard for comparison is supplied by bit-starved broadcast and streaming versions makes the Blu-ray image look good by comparison. But that's a low threshold for quality, and we know from the product of less parsimonious studios that well-mastered television Blu-rays can look as good as the best feature films. Animal Kingdom's image is serviceable, but not stellar.

Animal Kingdom: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Animal Kingdom arrives with a 5.1 soundtrack, encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA, that can't compete with major action films, but effectively supplies a sonic signature for the California beaches and hilly residential neighborhoods where the series' creatures hunt and play. Gunfire is rare, but when it occurs, it has authority, as does the occasional vehicular pursuit. Loud scenes are more likely to be parties at the Cody family pool than episodes of violence, some of which can be disturbingly quiet. The rear speakers are almost constantly engaged, but surround activity is generally limited to ambiance. Dialogue is clear and properly localized. The scoring is credited to the team of Samuel Jones and Alexis March (Lila & Eve), but the jagged opening theme, set to a montage of tattoos in progress, is the work of Atticus Ross, who is David Fincher's current composer of choice, starting with The Social Network.

Animal Kingdom: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Many of the extras are brief and promotional in nature. The quoted descriptions are taken from the disc menus.

• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 1.78:1): Most episodes include deleted scenes, which can be accessed from the menu listings for either "Episodes" or "Special Features".


• Disc 1
• 1. Pilot/We Don't Hurt People (13:11)
• 2. Stay Close, Stick Together (3:15)
• 3. Dead to Me (3:54)
• 4. Flesh Is Weak (1:04)


• Disc 2
• 5. Child Care (1:07)
• 6. Damn Animals (3:16)
• 9. What Have You Done (2:28)



• Inside Animal Kingdom (1080p; 1.78:1; 2:16): "Producers and cast provide an inside look at Animal Kingdom."



• Animal Kingdom Stunts (1080p; 1.78:1; 2:01): "From surfing to skydiving, Animal Kingdom features exciting action sports stunts."



• Meet the Codys (1080p; 1.78:1; 1:58): "Get an inside tip on the diabolical family at the heart of Animal Kingdom."



• Getting into Character (1080p; 1.78:1; 1:59): "An artistic look at creating the criminally cool characters in Animal Kingdom."



• Setting the Stage (1080p; 1.78:1; 2:24): Production designer Nina Ruscio and the production team reveal what went into the making of 'Smurf's' domain."



• Family Comes First (1080p; 1.78:1; 14:18): This is the principal extra, with executive producers John Wells and Jonathan Lisco discussing the show's creation, reviewing the first season and dropping hints about the second season. Caution: Major spoilers!

Animal Kingdom: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Television has seen some memorable crime families in recent years, setting the bar dauntingly high for newcomers, but Animal Kingdom's first season shows promise, with the stark contrast between its pretty environment and the sickening creatures who inhabit it. Barkin's Smurf unabashedly aims to stand comparison with paragons of dysfunctional villainy like Tony Soprano and Walter White, and she may well achieve that dubious honor, if Lisco and Wells are allowed to pursue the various threads they have left for the upcoming Season Two (scheduled to debut on May 30, 2017). Whether or not you have seen the Australian original, this American remake is attractive, inventive and, ultimately, appalling in the way that lurid tales of bad behavior should be. With due account for the low bitrates, the Blu-rays are capably produced and recommended.