Animal Kingdom: 'We do what we must'

Loosely based on the Pettingill family of Melbourne, who were allegedly involved in the 1988 Walsh Street police shootings, David Michôd’s Animal Kingdom (2010) stars a roll-call of Australian talent, including Ben Mendelsohn, Guy Pearce and Joel Edgerton. But the scene stealer is the Cody family’s matriarch, Janine (played by Jacki Weaver). She might be small, she might be cute, she might be nicknamed Smurf – but never, ever cross her.  

In this scene, Smurf meets with Randall (Justin Rosniak), a bent cop from the drug squad, and convinces him to raid the safe house where her grandson, J, is living. She’s acting to protect her sons, who may be convicted when J testifies at their trial. Smurf’s doe eyes and gentle, reasoning voice, her sky-blue hippie top, the grandmotherly gesture as she wipes her nose with a tissue, form an unsettling contrast to her intentions. The masterly twist of Weaver’s face as she says, ‘I’m not trying to tell you how to… suck eggs’ encapsulates Smurf’s saccharine-and-cyanide affect, and the funereal organ music of Antony Partos’ score further signals the dark purpose of her manipulation. Weaver was nominated for an Academy Award for this performance, which catapulted her into a late-in-life Hollywood career.  

This lioness in lamb’s clothing will do anything to protect what’s precious to her, even at the expense of her own flesh-and-blood. 

Notes by Rose Mulready