This genre of family crime is based on Oceanside, Calif surf community. After the loss of his mother, 17 year old boy now has to live with his criminal family, overseen by matriarch Smurf.
Despite featuring a cast of mostly unknowns and being developed from foreign-produced source material, the show managed to suck viewers in... with slick production values, fine performances, taut direction and a tension-filled narrative throughline.
Marinated in its seedy, sweltering setting and fueled by its hyper-masculine antiheroes' reckless behaviors, Animal Kingdom is a welcome adrenaline rush in the typically underwhelming summer season.
Adapted from the arresting 2010 Australian thriller, the series contains glimpses of the gritty, compelling series it could be, but judged on its first three episodes, this tale of a dysfunctional Southern California crime family is more bark than bite.
This series adaptation of the 2010 movie Animal Kingdom is remarkably confident from the start. The story unfolds naturally, the hand-held camerawork is quite effective, and the acting is aces.
