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This best of 2010 reminded of another one of the best films of 2010 — WINTER’S BONE. Both films are crime dramas set in working class families. Teens are at the center of both tales, living in worlds of violence that they cannot escape from. They have to learn to cope and maneuver through it. There is no one they can trust, so they’re on their own.

Joshua “J” Cody (James Frecheville) is 17 and his mother has an overdose. Now he has to go live with her family in Melbourne; the family she left behind for his sake. His grandmother Janine (Jacki Weaver, PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK) is the sweet matriarch of a family of criminals. J describes his uncle Andrew, aka Pope, (Ben Mendelsohn, THE NEW WORLD) as the one he is most scared of, and rightfully so. He has an intense, intimidating stare and a knack for getting people to do things they don’t really want to do. Pope is the leader of a robbery gang with his best friend Barry “Baz” Brown (Joel Edgerton, THE SQUARE). When the levelheaded and kind Baz wants out, Pope becomes lost and begins to spiral out of control.

J’s uncle Craig (Sullivan Stapleton, THE CONDEMNED) is a drug dealer with a volatile and nervous personality. The youngest brother Darren (Luke Ford, THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR) looks like a surfer dude and is easily persuaded to go along with whatever his older brothers want.

J attempts to keep his life as normal as he can. He has a cute girlfriend named Nicky (Laura Wheelwright). Pope doesn’t miss telling him that. Nicky tries to convince her parents to let J stay at their place, but they don’t know the whole picture and don’t like the idea of their teenage daughter’s boyfriend living with them.

Before too long, J is pulled into the world of his uncles. He gets arrested and must face Detective Nathan Leckie (Guy Pearce, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL), who sees that the teen is just a pawn of his family. As the weakest link he dogs the boy. This doesn’t build trust with his paranoid uncle Pope.

Writer/director David Michod made shorts prior to this his feature film debut. It’s an impressive debut both from a writing and directing standpoint. He keeps us guessing with his plot twists and turns, which are all driven by his full cast of complex characters. His lowlife criminals live a pretty average suburban life. Touches like these make this crime tale unique.

While all the characters are compelling. The most of which are Pope and Janine. Mendelsohn doesn’t look the part and Michod underlines that with his flowered shirts that a suburban dad would wear to a barbecue. But then we meet him. There is a brilliant scene where he questions Darren on his sexuality where he just keeps at him and we see how he just wears people down and can make them do anything he wants, because they will never challenge him. Weaver’s Janine would be mom of the year if she weren’t cold blooded. She also has a creepy way of giving her sons kisses on the lips that last a few beats too long. And when it comes to her family, no one messes with them.

But at the center of this tale is the innocent J. In his first major film role, Frecheville reacts naturally to his surroundings. He’s a big kid and seems ripe for the picking as an underlining in the Cody criminal enterprise. But in reality, he’s a shy kid whose had a rough life. He just keeps his head down and does his best. But the deeper he gets, he more he has to think on his feet. We like this kid, because he’s a kid thrust into an impossible situation. We wonder, is he mature or smart enough to survive?

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