"I been around a long time, sweetie." - Jackie Weaver
One of the recurring phenomena of the Academy Awards is a tip of the hat to one of the tiniest films of the year and an exceptional performance. Most of that hat-tipping seemed aimed at Winter's Bone -- the indie triumph of the year with picture, actress, supporting actor, and screenplay nominations. Somehow, that slew of high ranking noms bumps Winter's Bone from the title of "itsy bitsy with giant success" toward something a little more in the range of The Crying Game. The bars are a little less classy. The men a bit more masculine. The accents a bit more difficult to understand. But it's the film cinephiles saw -- or at least felt they had to see, knowing full well award season was coming.
And then there's Animal Kingdom and its supporting actress nominee Jackie Weaver. Her nomination could be written off by some as "that one they keep nominating" -- as if she somehow gained early critical acclaim and an elite level of movie buffs continually puts her name forth as a given. I even wondered this myself. I wondered it for the first hour of the movie.
Jackie Weaver is no Judi Dench. She's not playing Queen Elizabeth. Tom Stoppard isn't filling her mouth with words. So even an hour in, I got to wondering where's the Outback Steakhouse approved Grade A Angus beef? Would this turn out to be some Beatrice Straight Network performance where it all came down to one big scene of Jackie Weaver screaming through the visiting room glass, during the trial, or back at home once her boys were sent off to prison?
On the contrary.
What's so fascinating about Animal Kingdom -- which is not the easiest film to wade through and certainly takes its sweet meandering time to make it through a relatively contained story -- is that it explores each hunk of plot separately. There's a distinct set of characters and a clear chain of events that takes place between the start and finish of this little Aussie thriller, but that doesn't mean one automatically leads to the next or that the drug dealers and cops playing out this "call and response" crime-flick are always the exact same arrangement of blokes.
For some reels, you spend more time with the cop, the lawyer, this uncle, that uncle, your girlfriend's mom. You wander. And young Jay, the fulcrum of the plot, is not always the guide. The audience is privy to many vitally important scenes and slivers of information Jay finds out far too late -- or never at all. Thus, Jackie Weaver's emergence from the "Gimme a hug" matriarch who lingered in the background to the cold hearted nana who wants her grandson whacked was as surprising as it was thrilling.
The entire film changed when this mama bear stared through glass at her arrested sons -- one a cold hearted murderer, the other a sweeter blond who might not be able to hack it on the inside -- and made her decision. She did it all with one key line. She turned away from the cold calculating son who was asking all the right questions about the trial, bail, how to proceed, etc. Weaver turns to her quiet blond boy and poses a very simple question: "How you keepin', hon?" Like she was visiting him at the hospital, sleepaway camp, or boarding school. And like any mother who cares too much -- she sure as hell ain't leaving him there.
But unlike my mother who allowed me to leave the Montessori education system when I found it undesirable as a kindergardener, Jackie Weaver isn't simply requesting a transfer. She's putting out a hit on the boy who turned state's evidence -- her own grandson.
"We've got to do something about Jay. He's gotta go."
The way Jackie Weaver takes a hard look at the corner her family is in and calculates the best way to keep as many family members alive and landing on "Easy, we kill the youngest one!" is something we haven't seen before. Weaver plays the role with precision and with an air of constant calculation. It's impossible to tell where she'll land or what ultimate outcome will satisfy her -- regardless of her own orders!
Ms. Weaver's nomination is unquestionably deserved despite its possibly having blocked or knocked Ms. Kunis out of the game. A Weaver win is doubtful. But expect to see this Aussie in many a film to come.
- Matthew J. McCue
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