Australia never looked so bad : Animal Kingdom

I'd heard the "Animal Kingdom" was like an Australian Godfather; it's not - it's abut one puny and punkish family of Melbourne (I think) thugs, without the vast scope of social and historical connections and references that makes The Godfather so grand. Though it suffers by comparison (what doesn't?), Animal Kingdom is good in its own right. Once you get past the idea that this family of drug dealers and bullies looks more like an over-40 softball team than like public enemy No. 1 (and maybe that's the point, anyway - they're not stereotypical movie heavies), the film is quite compelling and frightening - most frightening of all, in a way, is not the psychopathic leader of the clan, known as Pope, but the enabling, near-incestuous mother, kissing her sons on the lips, petting their cheeks, ultimately going to horrible lengths to save one boy (at the expense of another, more expendable one). The plot stretches credulity a bit, but it ticks along very well, holding our attention with a vise grip. I think what makes it work and what separates Animal Kingdom from many others of the genre is that it's told, for the most part, from the viewpoint of a teenage boy who's drawn into the crimes of his uncles, even though he has no temperament for this life. It reminded me in a skewed way of Black Swan - like Nina in that movie, the boy has (almost) no one on his side, no chance (though he doesn't descend into madness, as she does). He gives us a real vantage point, a place to focus our feelings and a way to identify with the world of this film - it's as if The Godfather had been told from the point of view of Fredo. Movie drags a bit in the first 15 minutes or so, as far too much is narrated in voiceover - too much telling, not enough showing - but director drops this device once he introduces all characters. Another quibble: at least this American viewer found at times a need for subtitles - combination of Australian accent, argot, and a muddy voicetrack, characteristic of far too many movies these days, not just the mumblecorps. A good if troubling movie - Australia never looked so bad.