Written and directed by Thomas Cailley, co-written by Pauline Munier, an adventure between a father and his son, in a world where some humans have started mutating into other animal species. Starring: Romain Duris, Paul Kircher, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Tom Mercier, Billie Blain, Xavier Aubert and Saadia Bentaïeb.
Successfully blending multiple genres is a wonderful thing to watch and that’s exactly what The Animal Kingdom achieves. There’s a little bit of everything from coming-of-age to romance to adventure to horror to social commentary. It’s certainly a unique take on many of the different topics that it’s delving into and one that you can see would have even more to offer if you sat down to rewatch and unpack everything. Particularly its latter moments when it starts to get to grips with fascism and discrimination, akin to a lot of sci-fi films its use of mutations is an effective interpretation of very real and relevant prejudice in today’s world.
That said, unless you are willing to see the larger picture, it might not have that much to offer. There isn’t a great deal of context or introduction, it dives in quite fast and then closes in on this father-son relationship. Although its atmosphere does keep you solidly pulled in, its use of horror is not necessarily subtle but at the same time it does create a quietly unsettling air. The way that it extends reality rather than rewriting it is interesting and unusual to watch unfold.
There’s also a great cast at work, Romain Duris does a wonderful job of portraying the pressures put upon François and trying to remain optimistic while intensely struggling. Paul Kircher’s exploration of identity with Émile is surprisingly familiar yet completely individual. His character is perhaps the best example of this adapted version of reality. He’s the classic teenager, broody and rebellious but he’s also curious and kind. Adèle Exarchopoulos is reliably wonderful, she brings a lot of personality, strength and support, it’s only a shame she doesn’t get to be more hands on with the story. Instead appearing sporadically for the most part, although Exarchopoulos and Duris have a charming chemistry.
You can say the same about Kircher and Billie Blain, they have a very honest, blunt connection. It’s also great to see more neurodivergent characters get involved and dealt with in a natural way. All of which is then backed by the rich visual that Thomas Cailley builds, it has an exceptional amount of depth and texture. The colours are excellently layered and really harmonise with the themes of nature and animals. However, it can feel like it’s progressing too slowly, that not enough is happening to really do justice to all of its other elements.
The Animal Kingdom creates a recipe for something stellar but can’t quite fulfil its potential. It’s visually stunning, its mix of genre is exciting to watch and its haunting atmosphere is enchanting but the story doesn’t evolve far enough. It’s unique yet clearly interpreting our own world, and there’s a superb cast at work.
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