Animal Kingdom is a 2010 Australian
crime drama film written and directed by
David Michôd, and starring
Ben Mendelsohn,
Joel Edgerton,
Guy Pearce,
James Frecheville,
Luke Ford,
Jacki Weaver, and
Sullivan Stapleton. David Michôd's script was inspired by the
Pettingill family of Melbourne, Australia, who in 1991 saw the acquittal of brothers
Victor Pierce and Trevor Pettingill (along with 2 others, Anthony Leigh Farrell and Peter David McEvoy) in the
1988 murder of two Victoria police officers. The film was critically acclaimed–it received 36 awards and 39 nominations with Weaver receiving multiple awards for her performance, including an
Academy Award nomination for
Best Supporting Actress.