The Animals
Sam Mason-Bell’s “The Animals” starts off slower than one would hope for a film that’s less than 90 minutes long. At that length, you really want to feel as though the film, regardless of subject, has a sense of purpose and building to something within the first 30 minutes that will carry over for the long haul. I didn’t feel that early on in this film, at all, and that isn’t good when you’re talking about a film that deals with crime. It turns out that Mason-Bell was aiming for a slow-burn with this crime thriller, however, and by the end, I was taken in by these characters, and the dilemmas the writer-director has put them in. This film is well worth your time, even if doesn’t feel that way, at first.
The story revolves around four friends in England who have taken up a life of crime for either money to live off of, or extra money to live off of. George (Ross Doney) is the first one we meet, and he is having a hard time finding work, and needs each job he pulls with his friends to live off of, and try to support his girlfriend. His best friend in the group is Perry (Ben James Archer), though he has a bit of a temper that makes that difficult. Also in the group is Simon (Rishi Ghosh), who is getting extra money from the jobs for he and his boyfriend. And then, there’s Bill (Jackson Davies), who has a wife and son to take care of. The money is getting tighter and tighter, and it always comes down to “one more job,” but what happens on one of their jobs changes the dynamics of their lives, and their friendship, permanently.
There are lulls in the story in the first part of the film, but once the changing moment occurs about midway into the film, the sense of urgency and dramatic weight that had already started to build gets going, and doesn’t stop until the credits roll. All of these characters are interesting and add something to the story, and the ways they change after the one job where something goes terribly sideways is fascinating to watch unfold. George, Perry, Simon and Bill- whose actions make for the catalyst for everything that happens after- have to make some choices that not only have intense ramifications on the lives of the ones they love, but themselves, and all four actors- though rough around the edges- make us believe every beat of this story’s emotional trajectory. Mason-Bell’s direction and choices with his cinematographer and editor feel rough around the edges, but his storytelling choices are sound, leading us to a climax that is the only way these character’s journeys could end, and it’s painfully honest.
You can watch “The Animals,” and see the trailer, here.
