Caffeinated Clint
Joel Edgerton, out pimping “Animal Kingdom” down under, spoke to The Herald Sun’s Hit magazine today about the film, as well as two upcoming efforts, “The Thing” (or whatever the heck they call it – “The Thing before The Thing”, maybe?) and “Warrior”.
The Aussie actor remains tight-lipped about his role in the highly-anticipated (well, at least in this household) prequel to “The Thing” (which he’s currently filming in that frosty ball-bluer of locations, Canada), only telling The Herald-Sun that “I play a helicopter pilot”. That, we of course, knew. Thanks for nothing, mate.
The flick, directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr., and co-starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead (“Scott Pilgrim vs. The World”), Eric Christian Olsen (“Fired Up!”), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (‘Mr Eko’ from TVs “Lost”) and Ulrich Thomsen (“The International”), is set before the events of the John Carpenter-directed Kurt Russell-starring original.
Thankfully, ‘Edgo’ (his new nickname – started just now by me) is a little more giving when it comes to deets on Lionsgate’s “Warrior”.
The film, a drama set in the world of MMA, stars Edgerton and future “Mad Max : Fury Road” star Tom Hardy (who Edgerton confirms, in the interview, is playing Mad Max – something that’s never been confirmed) as brothers .
“It’s me and Mad Max fighting each other in a cage”, Edgerton laughs. “He’s a fucking time bomb. He’s one of these actors whose emotions are just so evident right under the surface of the skin”.
In writer/director Gavin O’Connor’s film, Hardy plays the youngest son of an alcoholic former boxer (Nick Nolte) who returns home, where he’s trained by his father for competition in a mixed martial arts tournament — a path that puts the fighter on a collision corner with his older brother (Edgerton).
The cast also includes Jennifer Morrison (TVs “House”), Kevin Dunn (“Transformers”), Bryan Callen (“Scary Movie 4”), Frank Grillo (“Edge of Darkness”) and Noah Emmerich (“Frequency”).
And before I log off, must I remind you Aussies to get out and see Edgerton’s newie “Animal Kingdom” this weekend? It’s bloody marvelous!
Offering not only new hope to smart and savvy filmmakers who’ve gotten to know the words “insufficient funds” quite well since leaving film school, but a sign that the best of what Australia has to offer in terms of film and TV might still be coming, the excellently-performed superbly-written thriller is a refreshingly encouraging yarn, a species of which many thought to be extinct. And If most of our local industry’s films (like those ridiculous quirky comedies we’ve become known for) are toothless tigers left best behind a wire fence, than journalist cum filmmaker David Michod’s beastly thriller is a sharp, menacing, unforgettable cougar – offering much bite.
Look, it’d be easy to write ”Animal Kingdom” off as merely ”Underbelly The movie”, but while thematically and geographically (the first season of the hit TV series was, like ”Animal Kingdom”, set in crime-infused Melbourne) they may feed from the same troth, both are of a different breed. ”Underbelly”, I guess you’d say, is much flashier than ”Animal Kingdom” – sort of a Tony Scott-esque take on Victorian crime. ”Animal Kingdom”, on the other hand, is a film which doesn’t so much care for using a wide colour palette, nor fast and nippy editing, as it does of making sure it’s performances, story, and pacing shine the brightest above all else. But also Underbelly, and a lot of other Australian gangster features, are interested in telling as many people’s stories as it can – and as quickly as it can. Michod’s script fixes on the members of the one family – a small family – and is intent on giving us as much insight into them in possibly, without diverting its attention to a side-character or characters. “Animal Kingdom” is – despite, ironically, its much, much shorter duration – a much more encompassing and engrossing experience than ”Underbelly”.
