Animals (2014)

Just perfect...

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

A drama about the relationship of a young couple, Jude and Bobbie, who live in their car and support their drug habit in a matter-of- fact way through shoplifting and scams, until their situation turns sufficiently sour for them to re-evaluate. It sounds bleak, but there's enough humanity and compassion shown to carry it through so we don't give up on them.There are fantastic performances from the leads, writer/producer David Dastmalchian and Kim Shaw, who convince as a couple who care deeply for each other despite the occasional flashes of selfishness that ring true as symptoms of addiction. The supporting cast are all good too, including John Heard in a small but significant role as a security guard.Director/producer Collin Schiffli and DP Larkin Donley also do great jobs. I loved an early transition from a view out from an apartment window to the reality of the car windshield. Be warned, there are graphic images of drug use, including injecting into the neck and groin, and a desperate moment on a filthy bathroom floor that made me wince.

Jude and Bobbie are a pair of drug addicts living in their car. Supposedly they're in love, but each day their first priority is to find the drugs required to feed their habit. They finance this dismal lifestyle through scams and thieving, and as the days pass they become increasingly squalid, reckless and pathetic. The two lead characters seem to care for each other, and the actors' performances are intense and convincing, making it a grueling task to watch them destroy their minds and bodies. Their story has a shallow narrative arc, and doesn't possess much upbeat content, comprising a catalog of minor disasters which spiral inexorably downwards. Sympathy for their dilemma is diluted since the script provides only vague hints what led them onto this dangerous and self-destructive path. The conclusion does offer a glimmer of hope, but the main point of 'Animals' seems to be a cautionary tale warning others not to follow this miserable way of life. The heroin epidemic currently raging across America provides ample justification for this type of material. Hopefully it will have a positive effect.

Wow! All I can say is wow! Animals was the most true to life drug story I have ever seen. Animals takes the audience on the day to day journey of the struggles that an addict faces daily in ones life. David Dastmalchian is a force to be reckoned with, with a performance that exudes greatness, he is now my favorite actor. Animals was written and directed beautifully too, I was entertained frame by frame and did not want the movie to end. Please if you have not seen this movie you must, because if you have anyone in your family struggling with addiction, you may get a better understanding when watching this film how it is to get caught up with a drug that is so powerful.

The woes of a young couple addicted to cocaine and drifting through a homeless existence in Chicago may not sound like an enticing piece of entertainment. In fact, it threatens to be one of those earnest but dreary "social problems" dramas you might go to only out of a vague sense of obligation. And the title, "Animals," doesn't help matters.Surprisingly, and pleasingly, "Animals" proves to be not only a movie that's "good for you" but also a movie which engrosses and entertains in an easy manner which seems deceptively effortless. Much of this credit goes to the two leads, David Dastmalchian and Kim Shaw, and to the script (by Dastmalchian) which shows us the various ways these two survive through guile and petty crime. You don't approve of what they do and you certainly don't envy their lives and yet they retain a likable quality and don't seem to be that far removed from our own selves.Each of the supporting characters is well-cast and effective.Those seeking a movie which veers from the usual multiplex offerings would be well-advised to consider "Animals."