Morality, loyalty and survival clash in the harrowing crime tale, Animal Kingdom.

As the film begins and Anthony Portos’ mournful score plays over the opening credits, it’s clear that Animal Kingdom is not interested in following the tried and true formula of flash visuals, glamorous violence, and caricature seen in many an Australian crime film.

Not to say writer/director David Michod’s feature debut is short on style. Far from it. But there is a substance here that hits deep and hard, as ramifications from very bad deeds lead to violent escalations which are nothing short of tragic.

Based in Australia’s crime capital of Melbourne, Michod has created a world where vigilantism is rampart, with cops shooting crims without warning, while a corrupt to the core justice system idly stands by and does nothing.

Into this world comes young J (James Frecheville), a pure soul both aloof and shy. Frenchville nails the part with precision under acting in an impressive debut performance.

When his heroin addicted mother dies and leaves him with nowhere to go, J is taken in by his estranged grandmother Smurf (Jacki Weaver), the Ma Barker to a family of criminals made up of three sons to different fathers.

There is Pope (Ben Mendelsohn), a once prosperous career criminal now a paranoid and unpredictable product of a bygone era; Craig (Sullivan Stapleton) the loud and brash speed freak and momma’s boy; and Darren (Luke Ford) independent and slyly looking for greener pastures.

Rounding out the group is Pope’s best friend Barry (Joel Edgerton). He knows there time is up and wants out.

When the body count begins to mount on both sides, J finds himself in a moral predicament which will either see him as a marked man in the eyes of his family, or an accomplice in the eyes of the law.

Complicating matters is the arrival of good cop Nathan Lackie (Guy Pearce), who urges Jay to do what is right and testify. It is here that Michod places the question: just where does morality play when survival of the fittest is determined by who shoots first?

Granted, Animal Kingdom is not a film wholly original in its narrative. Parallels to the vastly underrated At Close Range are impossible to ignore, and the cops and crims opus Heat also seems influential.

Yet it is a film which features such assured filmmaking by Michod, and some of the best performances thus far this year (Weaver is Oscar worthy; Mendelsohn career defining; Pearce unforgettable), that it exceeds the high applause given to those films, and becomes a standalone giant in a genre which has begun to find its feet again.