The opening scene shows James or "J" (James Frecheville) robotically watching Deal or No Deal; fair enough, I mean, his mum has just OD'd on heroin.
To the rescue is J's grandmother (Jackie Weaver)...
This is no fairytale, however. We see, instead, the confronting reality that J is introduced to: the dodgy uncles, the no-hope future.
Luke Ford is Uncle Darren or, perhaps surprisingly, "Dazza" and is portrayed as the weakest of the set of brothers. This is shown in a dramatic scene invovling him, uncle no. 2 Andrew (Ben Mendelsohn) and J's girlfriend Nicky (Laura Wheelwright) and is emphasised in a later scene with Mendelsohn and Weaver.
Mendelsohn is truly haunting in his role of Andrew Cody. An allusion to medication-taking is made once, but this is lost in his calculating yet terrifyingly sponataneous role as the cool-as-a-cucumber gangster returned from some sort of exile; any thoughts of religious metaphor are soon lost, however, upon viewing the aforementioned scene with Wheelwright and Ford.
Uncle number 3 is Craig Cody, played by Sullivan Stapleton. His character, though one-dimensional, epitomises the sheer waste of a drug addiction. His paranoia is sad to the point of pathetic. This is no blight on Michôd - it merely highlights the realism of this film. It was interesting to say the least when watching a scene involving Frecheville and Stapleton around the first third of the film when Frecheville is forced to initiate himself into the subculture of the Codys through Craig's express desire to prove himself as a worthy member of the clan. Of course, as articulate and pithy Craig shows himself to be, this "initiation" is tangible yet implicit.
However, hats must be taken off Joel Edgerton's role as Barry Brown. One scene that sticks to mind is, early on, when Brown gives J a hygiene lesson in a dodgy toilet in a dodgy restaurant somewhere out in Footscray, where mere mortals fear to tread....
Okay okay, I'm going overboard but the point is for all the (many) faults of the Codys and co. that Michod shows us, perhaps the director is trying to suggest that families of crime get caught up when they try and live the high life and that is their downfall; maybe if there were more focus on inherent and intrinsic relationships, there would be less crime.
On the other hand, it's not a morality tale, but instead it's a gripping insight into suburbia and all its defects.
What really gripped me in this movie was the raw honesty of the lives it depicted. All the characters - bar Craig Cody - show humanity in all its beautiful, flawed form one way or the other.
Obviously, it's a bit late to watch at the movies but when it comes out on DVD and Blu-ray, I would highly suggest you spend an evening viewing this intense drama that will surely go down as a classic in Aussie cinema
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