Animals

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, mostly consisting of bleak episodes 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 opioid epidemic currently raging across America provides ample justification for this type of material. Hopefully it will have a positive effect.