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Animal Kingdom poster

Movies that feel likeAnimal Kingdom (2010)

Joshua “J” is taken in by his extended family after his mother dies of an overdose. The clan, ruled by J’s scheming grandmother, is heavily involved in criminal activities, and J is soon indoctrinated into their way of life. But J is given a chance to take another path when a cop seeks to help him.

If you loved Animal Kingdom, the closest films we have are Pusher (1996), SPL: Kill Zone (2005) and The Grifters (1990). All three share Animal Kingdom's gritty and contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Force of Evil (1950).

🍅 94% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.2 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. David Michôdgrittycontemplativeatmospheric
8 of 12 streaming nowAmazon Prime Video · Sundance Now · FlixFling

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See it on the Mood Map

If Animal Kingdom hit the spot, these will too

Pusher poster
Pusher
1996 · dir. Nicolas Winding Refn
🍅 83%★ 7.3action · crime · drama

The same preoccupation in both: drug dealer

The difference: Sits closer to action than Animal Kingdom does

A drug pusher grows increasingly desperate after a botched deal leaves him with a large debt to a ruthless drug lord.

SPL: Kill Zone poster
SPL: Kill Zone
2005 · dir. Wilson Yip
🍅 80%★ 6.9action · crime · dramaPrime Video

One thread runs through both: neo-noir

Chan, an articulate senior detective nearing the end of his career, is taking care of the daughter of a witness killed by ruthless crime lord Po. Martial arts expert Ma is set to take over as head of the crime unit, replacing Chan who wants an early retirement.

The Grifters poster
The Grifters
1990 · dir. Stephen Frears
🍅 92%★ 6.8crime · drama

Both are built on the same subject: neo-noir

The difference: 20 years apart, and the 1990s show

A small-time conman has his loyalties torn between his estranged mother and his new girlfriend, both of whom are high-stakes grifters with their own angles to play.

One False Move poster
One False Move
1992 · dir. Carl Franklin
🍅 93%★ 7.1crime · drama · thriller

The same mix in both: grit, then stillness

Following a series of drug deals and murders, three criminals -- Fantasia, Ray Malcolm and Pluto -- travel from Los Angeles to Houston, finally arriving in a small Arkansas town to go into hiding. Two detectives from the LAPD, who are already on the case, contact the town's sheriff, Dale Dixon, to alert him of the fugitives' presence in the area. Underestimating Dixon, the criminals have no idea what they are about to face.

Phoenix poster
Phoenix
2014 · dir. Christian Petzold
🍅 98%★ 7.3drama

Drama built on atmosphere, twice over

The difference: Takes it somewhere less gritty than Animal Kingdom does

In the aftermath of WWII, German-Jewish cabaret singer Nelly has to undergo facial reconstructive surgery following her survival from Auschwitz. Without recognising Nelly, her former husband Johnny asks her to help him claim his wife’s inheritance. To see if he's betrayed her, she agrees, becoming her own doppelgänger.

Force of Evil poster
Force of Evil
1950 · dir. Abraham Polonsky
🍅 100%★ 7.2crime · drama

Gritty crime in both cases

Lawyer Joe Morse wants to consolidate all the small-time numbers racket operators into one big powerful operation. But his elder brother Leo is one of these small-time operators who wants to stay that way, preferring not to deal with the gangsters who dominate the big-time.

The Big Combo poster
The Big Combo
1955 · dir. Joseph H. Lewis
🍅 93%★ 7.3drama · crime

Both lean on stillness more than on crime

Police Lt. Leonard Diamond vies to bring a clever, well connected, and sadistic gangster to justice all the while obsessing over the gangster's girlfriend.

New World poster
New World
2013 · dir. Park Hoon-jung
🍅 63%★ 7.5thriller · crime · drama

Drama with a pulse of atmosphere, in both cases

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

An undercover cop has his loyalties tested when the boss of the corporate gang he's spent years infiltrating dies.

Scarlet Street poster
Scarlet Street
1945 · dir. Fritz Lang
🍅 100%★ 7.7drama · crimePrime Video

Gritty crime, and it commits to that

Cashier and part-time starving artist Christopher Cross is absolutely smitten with the beautiful Kitty March. Kitty plays along, but she's really only interested in Johnny, a two-bit crook. When Kitty and Johnny find out that art dealers are interested in Chris's work, they con him into letting Kitty take credit for the paintings. Cross allows it because he is in love with Kitty, but his love will only let her get away with so much.

Angels with Dirty Faces poster
Angels with Dirty Faces
1938 · dir. Michael Curtiz
🍅 100%★ 7.8crime · drama

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

Childhood chums Rocky Sullivan and Jerry Connelly grow up on opposite sides of the fence: Rocky matures into a prominent gangster, while Jerry becomes a priest, tending to the needs of his old tenement neighborhood.

The Set-Up poster
The Set-Up
1949 · dir. Robert Wise
🍅 85%★ 7.8drama · crime

Both sit in the same atmospheric register

Expecting the usual loss, a boxing manager takes bribes from a betting gangster without telling his fighter.

Sexy Beast poster
Sexy Beast
2001 · dir. Jonathan Glazer
🍅 87%★ 7.3crime · thriller · drama

Both know what they want from crime

Ex-safecracker Gal Dove has served his time behind bars and is blissfully retired to a Spanish villa paradise with a wife he adores. The idyll is shattered by the arrival of his nemesis Don Logan, intent on persuading Gal to return to London for one last big job.

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The best-reviewed films that share Animal Kingdom’s defining feeling.