69
Metascore
17 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Screen DailyJonathan RomneyScreen DailyJonathan RomneyThe Animal Kingdom sets itself up as a brooding chiller, jump scares, freaky coups de cinéma and all, but gradually shifts gear to become more poetic and tender.
- 80The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisNarrative ambiguity can be fruitful but also a cop-out, as too many would-be art films tediously demonstrate. Here, though, the movie’s vagueness dovetails with both François’s and especially Émile’s confusion, and importantly, it also serves as a counterpoint to their unshakable love for Lana.
- 75ColliderMarco Vito OddoColliderMarco Vito OddoWhile The Animal Kingdom is far from perfect, it still delivers a crowd-pleasing story that can move and thrill in equal measure.
- 75Slant MagazineGreg NussenSlant MagazineGreg NussenThe soft-pedaled approach to its narrative strands gives the film the feel of an extended TV pilot.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinThe Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinThe inevitable North American remake will no doubt pump more technology into its iteration, but a more efficient, streamlined approach toward pace and editing wouldn’t have hurt this original and striking work.
- 70VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter Debruge“The Animal Kingdom” isn’t a traditional genre movie so much as a coming-of-age story with a creature-feature twist — picture a moody French “Teen Wolf,” minus the laughs. ... Stumble even for a moment, and the whole movie could feel silly, which is what makes the fact that it works all the more remarkable.
- 67Original-CinJim SlotekOriginal-CinJim SlotekA film that wants to be a metaphor for something, the French film The Animal Kingdom is like an edgeless, absurdist high school version of The Island of Doctor Moreau.
- 58The PlaylistGregory EllwoodThe PlaylistGregory EllwoodUnfortunately, Cailley’s conventional cinematic aesthetic is also often akin to a contemporary streaming movie (the first thirty minutes or seem like a television pilot) and while the visual effects are solid, there are few images that will stick with you hours after you’ve left the theater. What saves “The Animal Kingdom” is the genuine horror over this happening to anyone (Cailley gets that right, at least) and Kircher’s fantastic performance.
- 58The Daily BeastNick SchagerThe Daily BeastNick SchagerThe Animal Kingdom is what an X-Men movie would look like if it doubled-down on its tolerance-for-outsiders metaphor and did away with any exciting superpowered spectacle.
- 55Paste MagazineKatarina DocalovichPaste MagazineKatarina DocalovichThomas Cailley blends traditional French social realism with one major element of science fiction (humans turning into animals) to create a dystopian drama that focuses on a small, character-driven story in order to evoke a vaguely environmentally conscious message.