By: Trevor Chartrand

Thomas Cailley’s The Animal Kingdom is a modern-day fairy tale.  A compelling and imaginative film that combines fantastical whimsy with an ominous, satiric edge.

The film is set during strange times, when a bizarre epidemic begins turning people into animals.  Those afflicted with this degenerative condition slowly transform in unique and unsettling ways.  Some grow feathers and claws, others grow scales or even tentacles.  Unsurprisingly, these mutations come with social ostracization as well;  as people lose their humanity, the world stops treating them like humans. 

At the height of this epidemic, an angsty teenager named Émile (Paul Kircher) aids his father François (Romain Duris of A Breath Away) in the search for his mother, who has succumbed to her ‘animal instincts’ and now hides out with others like her in the forest. 

Co-writers Pauline Munier and Cailley have crafted an intriguing narrative here that is layered and engrossing.  While the surface-level story will satisfy casal filmgoers, The Animal Kingdom has an eyebrow-raising subtext for those reading between the lines.  With its complexities, the film is both uplifting and depressing at the same time, depending on which perspective you consider it from.   

The dense narrative in The Animal Kingdom is supported by some phenomenal performances, with the father/son chemistry of Duris and Kircher serving as the true heart of this story.  Their family dynamic is engaging and profoundly defined.  Notably, the actors who portray animals are quite captivating, especially Tom Mercier’s portrayal of ‘Fix’ during various stages of his tragic metamorphosis. 

No matter how strong the performance though, the human-animal hybrids need to be seamlessly integrated for a movie like this to work.  To the filmmakers credit, the creatures do look fantastic, blending in with their environment as they should.  Thanks to an evidently successful collaboration between the visual effects, prosthetics and makeup departments, the animal-people don’t look silly or out of place, but like they belong in this world.  The film’s story is enhanced by these top-notch effects – used sparingly and appropriately to guarantee their most poignant effect.

A mature and engaging satire, The Animal Kingdom combines fantasy with drama in a style reminiscent of 2017’s The Shape of Water.  The film plays like an old-fashioned morality tale, in all its dark and disturbing glory.  It’s unsettling and pleasant all at once, and notable for its technical achievements as well.  Overall, The Animal Kingdom is a cautionary story that entertains on multiple levels.

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Trevor Chartrand: @OhHaiTrebor