This is one of those movies that makes you want to never leave the house, because apparently the family down the street could be a band of murdering thieves. The movie feels so damn real that you may start looking at friends and co-workers with suspicion.
J (short for Josh) is sitting with his mom when she OD's on heroin. Under 18, with nowhere to go, he calls his maternal grandma, also the mother of four boys - his uncles. Grandma Smurf, as she is called, adores her boys. The fact that they are thieves, drug dealers and murderers doesn't bother her at all. Grandma Smurf likes to kiss them hello on the lips - a nice lingering kiss. She lives for her boys. The police in Melbourne at this time (or in this movie) are as wild as the criminals, killing unarmed suspects in parking lots or grocery stores. Not much separates them from each other.
J moves in with this crowd because of a monumental absence of options, and he's really in trouble. So is his girlfriend, and the girlfriend's family. It's just one big snowball. Grandma Smurf didn't care too much about losing her daughter, but when she loses two boys in rapid succession to police shootings and the last two are in jail, she shows how evil she is. We're not talking Yoda with a sword; this is really nasty. Jackie Weaver got a Best Supporting Actress nod for this portrayal, and she's very impressive.
This wasn't as harrowing or as well done as Biutiful, but it gave me chills.
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