Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden) just got out prison and has planned a heist that’ll make the risk of going back more than worth it. He, along with a few other friends, will be robbing the race track in the middle of the day. It’s a job that’ll clear them near two million dollars and it’s fool proof.

Stanley Kubrick and I have had more than a strained relationship over the years. Where he loves to compose brilliant cinematography and show the face of violence I like understandable stories. However, throughout the years, even though I’ve had issues with specific films there are also a handful of movies he’s done which I must admit are worthy of me calling some of the best movies ever made. This film is one of them.

I’ve seen heist films like Rififi where the film draws itself out in exposition and makes the heist itself sit smack in the middle of the film to sustain you for the entire runtime and I’ve seen films like Ocean’s Eleven where it’s not so much about the heist but more about the set up and the follow through. This movie isn’t either of those. This is a movie that gives you every part of the heist to enjoy.

In the opening of Animal Kingdom we’re told about the idea of the criminal. Every criminal, even though they refuse to admit it to themselves, know that eventually they will be undone and will have to pay for the crimes that they have committed. In this movie we’re dealing with a character that knows that he can and will probably get caught if he makes this kind of a thing a regular living. So he knows to set up one big job and live off those earnings as opposed to working all the small angles and having to grind a living for another sixty years.

Kubrick managed to work in as much interesting compositions while at the same time not running away from the story. I actually thought it interesting that the most highlighted moments of the film by Kubrick were the moments of violence. Even towards to end where Val (Vince Edwards), boyfriend to Sherry (Marie Windsor) who’s the wife to the teller – George (Elisha Cook) – who’s in on the job, jumps the crew. When a character dies or at the very least is injured the way that Kubrick frames not only the character but the face of the dead is somewhat more morbid than most of the torture-porn movies of today.

This is one of the many heist films that I love that even though it takes it’s time to show us every moment and angle of the heist I almost feel like it’s unnecessary. The film is so intricately detailed that you never worry that the job will be in trouble. It’s the set up and the pay off that I was more interested in and they both work beautifully. I particularly enjoy the end of the film and how brilliant the final moment of the film is.

If you’re looking for a film-noir to keep you warm at night anytime soon I think this will do just fine and more.

IMDB says 8.2/10

Rotten Tomatoes 96%

I say 9.5/10