I decided to analyse a scene from David Michods 2010 film Animal Kingdom. This is the link to the scene https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sFu4iEF8dk.

I believe this scene starts off very pleasingly. The first two shots are motivated by movement of the characters, which gives a satisfying effect. As the other car rolls into the shot, Craig turns his head and in this turn the camera position changes almost without you thinking about it. The camera then blurs out J’s face, to show that in this particular scene Craig is more so the more influential character, even though J is the protagonist of the film. I enjoy how quickly this small sequence happens and how smoothly it does, almost gracefully. I also enjoy the fact that it is filmed with a handheld camera, which adds to the grittiness and melancholic aesthetic of this film.

As much as it may be an outdated and possibly offensive stereotype, Craig’s ‘mullet’ does somewhat represent his character well. I would describe his character as someone who is unrefined and unsophisticated and someone who is almost always in trouble with the law. And his foolishness and disregard for not following the law is what ended his life.

A smart choice I think in terms of costume/props in the scene is the addition of the boxing glove hanging off the rear view mirror in the car of the men that pull up. I think this is a foreshadow of what they are looking for, which is a fight. It also looks as if they have a red racing car type of car seat, which I suppose points to another possibly negative stereotype. The unsophisticated stereotype of people who race their own cars around. 

Once again I like the smoothness of this section, of Craig finding the gun and passing it into J’s lap. Something about this motion, that was obviously choreographed and rehearsed is smooth and effective. You can really see the urgency of Craig’s motions through the intent and quick movement of the camera.

You can then see the stress in J’s face after receiving this responsibility of having the gun. The camera does a an insert cut from his face to the gun and back again. His face is generally quite neutral and hard to read for the majority of the film. But I believe this short back and forth shows the stress and worry J suddenly has even if it doesn’t necessarily show on his face. 

We then have the shot from the back seat. I love this shot. I think it is quite beautiful, mostly because I love Melbourne! We can see the skyline of what I assume is the Eureka Building in the distance, we also get a glimpse of the car that they are following. But the main reason I like this shot is because you feel as if you are now in this situation with them. This gives more of an immersive feeling and you feel as if you are more invested in the scene. And therefore it makes the audience feel a bit more unsettled and stressed.

As I was rewatching this scene I was reminded of something Robin wrote about in his analysis of The Soft Skin (1964). This back seat of the car shot was very similar to that of the one in The Soft Skin. Obviously cars have changed a lot in between the 60’s and what I would assume would be this 2000’s car in Animal Kingdom. Robin says that this type of shot could not be done in a modern car with the head rests still attached. Although I think that this particular car must be long enough to be able to film this shot. And even though this isn’t as elegant as the Mercedes 220 and the headrests are somewhat in the way, I feel there is something elegant about this shot in the context of this film. Obviously a Mercedes 220 is more classic and beautiful than this Ford. But in it’s own way and in the context, I think it is a great shot and somewhat beautiful shot!

Maybe something to point out would be that we only have shots from the inside of the car until J gets out to threaten the men in the other car. I’m not entirely sure of the effect of this but it may be that the audience can feel the how vulnerable J also feels. He is suddenly not in the safety of a car and doesn’t have the back up of Craig when he steps out of the car into the real world.

As the cars pull up into the side street and stop, I believe that the hand held camera gets a bit more shaky than the beginning of this scene, to represent the fact that things are getting a bit more serious and less smooth in the scene. When the men in the other car get out, you can see that there are many cars parked down the street and it is quite a busy residential area. The cars are also parked in the middle of the road, I think this further makes the scene a bit worrisome and uncertain. It is a bit stressful knowing that this scene is happening in a street that has many people living in it and possibly children.

The shot of J pulling the gun up and pointing at the men is extremely brief but it gets the point across. It is quite a tight shot onto his face and I believe it shows his worried expression well. But as the camera flips around to the man with his hands up we can see the blurriness still there of J’s arm with the gun. I really like this addition. If that dirty shot wasn’t included it, this scene possibly would have become a bit repetitive. When we cut back to the medium close up of J holding the gun we can really see how nervous he is with the shaking of the gun. 

I really like this shot of J soaking in what has just happened. Once again we have a pretty iconic shot of the Melbourne skyline and I think this is quite a common motif throughout the film. Almost as if the city is it’s own character and is quite integral to the story.

My last thought about this scene is that even though J is in fact the protagonist of this film, the coverage of this film really shows how effected he is by the people around him, Craig being that character in this particular scene. And he can’t quite make his own decisions, which becomes quite a problem for him throughout the film.

Overall, I think this is a simple but quite beautifully shot scene.