Animal (2005) (V)

Director:

David J. Burke

Writer:

David C. Johnson (written by)

Release Date:

5 September 2007 (Finland)

Genre:

Drama | Action

Tagline:

His Legacy Must End... For His Son's Life To Begin.

Plot:

When the violent gangster James "Animal" Allen is arrested and sent to prison, his teenage son Darius is left with his mother...

Plot Keywords:

One Word Title | Violence | Patricide | Father Son Relationship | Prison Life

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Ving Rhames	...	Animal
Terrence Howard	...	Darius Allen
Jim Brown	...	Berwell
Chazz Palminteri	...	Kassada
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Junior Alvarez	...	Kevin Belzer
Rafa Alvarez	...	Paul Wilson
Black Child	...	Spyda
Eugene Cotto	...	Assassin 1 - Berwell
César Farrait	...	Roach
Carlos Esteban Fonseca	...	Big Dre
John Garcia	...	Bad Guy #2
Norman Grant	...	CO #2
Taraji P. Henson	...	Ramona
Alfredo Herger	...	CO #1 (Willie Lynch)
Hunter Howard	...	Young Darius
Joaquin Jarque	...	Police Leader
Modesto Lacen	...	Dinky
Faizon Love	...	Double T
Charlie Massó	...	New Fish
Edwin Mercado	...	Assassin
Paula Jai Parker	...	Reecy
Néstor Rodulfo	...	Yard Dog
Ramon Saldana	...	Trustee
Norman Santiago	...	Little Bill
Wes Studi	...	Creeper
Beverly Todd	...	Latreese
Noel Villafane	...	Inmate
Katherine Zayas	...	Shae

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language and drug content.

Runtime:

USA:93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

UK:15 | Finland:K-15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Puerto Rico

Company:

Animal Film LLC

Goofs:

Continuity: When Animal (Ving Rhames) is approached in the prison yard and told to come and meet with Kassada (Chazz Palminteri) he tosses away the wadded paper in his mouth. The next cut shows him at the table with Kassada and it's back in his mouth.

Quotes:

Reecy: [to Animal] Who'd you kill on your son's birthday?

Movie Connections:

Followed by Animal 2 (2007)

Soundtrack:

Caught Up

Haunted by the Past

When the violent gangster James "Animal" Allen (Ving Rahmes) is arrested and sent to prison, his teenage son Darius (Terrence Howard) is left with his mother, but she is assassinated and the boy is raised alone on the streets, becoming a criminal. While in the corrupt prison, Animal works for the powerful prisoner Kassada (Chazz Palminteri), but when he meets the revolutionary Berwell (Jim Brown), his view of life changes. Animal is released on probation and tries to have a straight life, but his past and his fame haunt him, while he sees that Darius is following his path in a criminal life.

"Animal" is a good movie, but the story has no surprises, showing the difficulties of a middle-age man that spent half of his life in jail to regenerate. His environment and his friends doom him to a low life. The cast is great and Ving Rhames has an amazing performance in a role tailored for him. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Animal"