Ruqayyah Snyder
The 2010 Australian crime drama film Animal Kingdom received widespread critical acclaim and was nominated for several awards. The film is loosely based on the real-life Melbourne crime family, the Pettingills, and the Walsh Street police shootings that occurred in the city in 1988. Animal Kingdom's success spawned a TV series of the same name, which premiered in 2016.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Genre | Crime, Drama, Thriller |
| Setting | Melbourne, Australia |
| Time Period | 1980s |
| Inspiration | Walsh Street police shootings, Pettingill family |
| Director | David Michôd |
| Cast | Jacki Weaver, Joel Edgerton, Ben Mendelsohn, James Frecheville, Guy Pearce |
| Awards | World Cinema Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival, National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress, 10 Australian Film Institute Awards |
| Nominations | 18 Australian Film Institute Awards, Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress |
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What You'll Learn
Animal Kingdom is based on a true story
Animal Kingdom is an Australian crime drama film that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on 22 January 2010. The movie received critical acclaim, with a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 83 out of 100 on Metacritic. The film is loosely based on a true story involving Melbourne's volatile Pettingill crime family, headed by the ruthless and influential matriarch Kath Pettingill. The movie also drew inspiration from the Walsh Street police shootings that occurred in Melbourne in 1988.
Kathleen "Kath" Pettingill was a former brothel owner and the mother of ten children, many of whom were involved in criminal activities. While she was not the ringleader of the family's crimes, as portrayed in the film, she did have her "own little empire of crime," dealing primarily in prostitution and drug dealing. The Pettingill family was involved in a wide range of criminal activities, including the notorious shooting of two police officers in 1988.
The film Animal Kingdom centres on 17-year-old Joshua "J" Cody, who moves in with his extended family, the Codys, after his mother dies of an overdose. The Codys, headed by the scheming grandmother Janine "Smurf" Cody, are heavily involved in various criminal activities and quickly indoctrinate Joshua into their way of life. However, Joshua is given an opportunity to leave the family's criminal fold when a cop named Leckie offers to help him.
The movie explores the gritty and suspenseful world of crime, deceit, corruption, and paranoia, with a top-notch cast delivering powerful performances. It provides a unique perspective on Melbourne's criminal underworld in the 1980s, a world that appeared civilised on the exterior but was fraught with turbulence and danger. The film's success led to the development of a TV series by the same name, which premiered in 2016.
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The film is inspired by the real-life Pettingill family
The Australian film Animal Kingdom is loosely inspired by the real-life Pettingill crime family, a matriarchal crime syndicate that operated in Melbourne during the 1970s and 1980s. The film's writer and director, David Michôd, was interested in the criminal underworld of Melbourne and wrote a script titled J in December 2000.
Kathleen "Kath" Pettingill, the former brothel owner and matriarch of the Pettingill family, had a violent reputation as a ruthless and influential figure in Melbourne's criminal underworld. She had ten children, many of whom were involved in criminal activities. The Pettingills were involved in a wide range of crimes, including the notorious Walsh Street police shootings in 1988, where two police officers were killed.
The film Animal Kingdom centres on a similar crime family, the Codys, led by the scheming grandmother, Janine "Smurf" Cody. After his mother overdoses, 17-year-old Joshua "J" Cody moves in with his extended family, the Codys, who are heavily involved in criminal activities. J is quickly indoctrinated into the family's way of life and must decide whether to stay or leave.
While the film takes inspiration from the Pettingill family, it is important to note that it is a work of fiction. The real-life Kathleen Pettingill even spoke out against the film in 2011, stating that it did not accurately represent her or her family's story.
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It replicates the Walsh Street shootings in Melbourne in 1988
The Australian film Animal Kingdom is based on the Melbourne that existed in the 1980s, which was regarded as a dangerous place by Australians. It was a turbulent time, with civilized and sedate exteriors masking an underlying criminal underworld. The film is inspired by the Walsh Street shootings that took place in Melbourne in 1988 and the Pettingill family, a real-life crime family.
The Pettingills were involved in a wide range of criminal activities, including the notorious shooting of two police officers in 1988. The film fictionalizes this event, with the prominent crime family involved in the shooting led by a matriarch, the Pettingill family. The Cody boys, presented as "rough bogan types," differ from the typical American gangster.
The Melbourne setting is crucial to the story, with its monotonous world of shopping centres, car parks, and suburban streets. It captures a unique aspect of Melbourne's criminal underbelly, where crime operates differently from other cities. The film's director, David Michôd, envisioned it with the city in mind, and the story is inherently tied to Melbourne's criminal history.
Animal Kingdom offers a glimpse into Melbourne's criminal past and the impact of the Pettingill family, presenting a different perspective on Australia's national identity and the complexities of its urban landscape.
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The Melbourne underworld in the 1970s and 1980s
By the 1980s, local amphetamine manufacture had increased significantly, leading police to describe Melbourne as the "amphetamine capital of Australia". Drug dealing was not the only source of income for criminals, who also profited from protection rackets in King Street nightclubs, prostitution, illegal gambling, and armed robbery.
The Melbourne underworld was marked by violence, with the Melbourne gangland killings seeing the murders of 36 underworld figures between January 1998 and August 2010. This period of violence was sparked by the 1996 arrest of John Higgs, Australia's top amphetamine trafficker, which created a power vacuum that younger criminals sought to fill. The conflict escalated with the 1998 murders of Melbourne gangsters Alphonse Gangitano and Charles Hegyalji, which led to several of their former associates rising to positions of importance in the underworld. This was followed by the 1999 shooting of Carl Williams by the Moran brothers, which further fuelled the rivalry between underworld groups.
The Melbourne underworld of the 1970s and 1980s was also marked by corruption, with the John Higgs case including a major cache of drugs linked to his syndicate mysteriously vanishing in the storage depots of Melbourne's drug squad due to corrupt police involvement.
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The film's matriarch, Janine Smurf Cody
Animal Kingdom is an Australian crime drama film that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on 22 January 2010. The film is loosely inspired by the real-life Pettingill family and the Walsh Street police shootings that occurred in Melbourne in 1988.
The film centres on the character of Joshua "J" Cody, played by James Frecheville, who moves in with his estranged grandmother, Janine "Smurf" Cody, and his uncles after his mother overdoses. Janine, played by Jacki Weaver, is the affectionate matriarch of a Melbourne crime family that uses her home as a base. She is protective of her family and presents a borderline-incestuous love towards them. On the surface, she appears to be a legitimate businesswoman, but she is actually a provocative and manipulative criminal mastermind.
Janine has a warped emotional hold over her four sons, who fear and resent her while still vying for her love and approval. She is tough, unpredictable, and scheming, and she is not afraid to get her hands dirty when it comes to protecting her family. In one scene, she kills a man in revenge for an attempted rape forty years prior and instigates a gunfight with his sons.
Jacki Weaver's performance as Janine was widely acclaimed, and she received numerous awards and nominations for her role, including an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
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Frequently asked questions
Animal Kingdom is an Australian movie that is based on true events. It is inspired by the real-life Melbourne crime family, the Pettingills, and the Walsh Street police shootings that occurred in Melbourne in 1988.
On October 12, 1988, two Melbourne policemen answered a routine call to check on an abandoned car in the middle of a street. This resulted in the notorious shooting of the two police officers.
The Pettingills were a crime family involved in a wide range of criminal activities, including the 1988 shooting. They were led by matriarch Kathleen "Kath" Pettingill, a former brothel owner who built a violent reputation as a ruthless and influential figure in Melbourne's underworld in the 1970s and 1980s.
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