It's quite an interesting film, with a fine back story. I was speculating Pearce was brought on board for the international marquee, and he was either a producer, or was doing someone a favour, as he did kind of dial it in (maybe he was involved in another project at the time, and could only spare so much of his). He wasn't a producer, and the rest remains speculative.
Another possibility is the writer-director wanted to contrast middle-class mores with those of the underworld (the titular animal kingdom) -- this also accounts for the plot significance of a crime girlfriend's family swept up in the ensuing mayhem.
Anyway, some odd little things occur, almost on the level of the starbucks cup in Game of Thrones, that heighten the disconnect between Pearce's role and his odd passivity.
Allegedly Quentin Tarentino's "third favourite film of 2010". :-{)"a show where participants put diamante necklaces on poodles seems like a step too far" |