NITRAM (2022)

April 1, 2022

Greetings again from the darkness. “What made him do it?” That’s the question we always ask after a mass shooting. Rarely does any answer make much sense. Director Justin Kurzel and his TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG (2019) screenwriter Shaun Grant join forces in collaboration again for a story based on the man responsible for the 1996 Port Arthur Massacre in Tasmania. It was the worst lone gunman mass shooting in Australian history with 35 killed and 23 injured. The filmmakers tread lightly here and never mention the shooter’s name, though the film’s title is a backwards hint. Their film is an attempt to answer that question we always ask.

Opening with archival news footage from 1979 in a burn unit, where a young boy has been injured by fireworks happily proclaims he will continue the fun that fireworks bring. We then flash-forward to a young man (presumably the same) setting off fireworks in his parents’ backyard as the neighbor yells at him to stop. His weathered mother (two-time Oscar nominated Judy Davis) puffs on a cigarette while looking on with a feeling of resignation. The young man is Nitram (though his parents never call him by name) and is played by Caleb Landry Jones, in his most off-kilter and disturbing role yet. His mom is fed up with him, though she attempts to get him on track, while his father (Anthony LaPaglia) is more reserved and forgiving of the boy they have raised – one who not only has no direction in life, but has social and likely mental issues.

Nitram’s long, stringy hair constantly provides cover for eyes that rarely look up. His world transforms one day when he asks a local recluse if he can mow her yard. Helen (played by Essie Davis, who is married to director Kurzel, and was fantastic in THE BABADOOK) takes a liking to him, and the two loners form an unconventional relationship where the wealthy woman buys him gifts, and offers him a home and what may be his first ever friend. Of course, this causes much consternation for his parents, as they carry an undefined concern about their son’s stability.

A dramatic event causes yet another shift in the young man’s life, and it allows the further exploration of how the world can become unbearable for such a person. A separate event results in an unwelcome change for dad, and it’s an event that certainly plays a part in putting Nitram on the deadly path. Nitram as a misfit is also on display through his interactions with a local surfer, and it’s at this point where the film shifts into commentary on gun control laws and the ease with which restrictions can be evaded. It’s a strange tonal shift, but for a mass murder movie that doesn’t show murders, we can at least understand the approach.

The four main actors are consummate professionals and always bring realism and interest to their roles. Here, Caleb Landry Jones delivers a performance that is both terrifying and empathetic. He of course appeared in THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI (2017), and I’ve been following his career since I first noticed him as one of the bike-riding boys near the end of NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007). While the film attempts to answer the original question, “What made him to it?”, perhaps many tragic scenarios could be avoided if we could sooner answer, “What’s wrong with you?” Depression, mental illness, gun control, and parental frustration are all prominent here. Filmmaker Kurzel ends the film with some startling details and statistics on Australia’s National Firearms Agreement.

WATCH THE TRAILER

Leave a Comment » | Drama, Thriller, World Cinema/Foreign | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by David Ferguson

TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG (2020)

April 23, 2020

 Greetings again from the darkness. The opening title card states “Nothing you are about to see is true” … and then it dissolves, leaving the word ‘true’ as the first word in the film’s title. Of course, some of the things we are about to see are true, though it is a dramatized version with a screenplay adapted by Shaun Grant (BERLIN SYNDROME, 2017) from Peter Carey’s 2000 novel. Director Justin Kurzel (MACBETH, 2015) takes a very artsy and stylistic approach in telling the story of the notorious Australian outlaw, Ned Kelly, while still including the expected violence and brutality.

Opening in 1867 Australia, we first see young Ned Kelly (Orlando Schwert) spying on his mother (Essie Davis, THE BABADOOK, 2014) as she provides service to Sgt. O’Neill (Charlie Hunnam). It’s the kind of service a young boy should never see his mother perform, especially as the father/husband (Ben Corbett) hovers outside the cabin with Ned’s siblings. Life is difficult for the Kelly family. Dad has some issues, so mom does what she has to in order to keep food on the table. Ned’s life and family dynamics change quickly when his dad takes the fall for a crime Ned committed.

Harry Power (played by hefty Russell Crowe) arrives on the scene, and becomes Ned’s mentor in song (a sing-a-long title that can’t be repeated here) and as a bushranger. It’s not long after this when the movie shifts from Ned as a boy, to Ned as a man (played by George Mackay, 1917), who spends a few years away from home. Ned crosses paths with Constable Fitzpatrick (Nicholas Hoult) numerous times, one which results in Ned meeting, and falling for, a young prostitute named Mary Hearn (Thomasin McKenzie, JOJO RABBIT). Ned and Mary return home to visit his mother, and they find she’s now engaged to a younger man, George King (Marlon Williams). George has been teaching his “trade” of horse-thieving to Ned’s brothers, including Dan (played by musician Nick Cave’s son, Earl Cave). It’s at this point we learn about how the Kelly Gang was formed, and why they took to wearing dresses … “Nothing scares a man like crazy.”

There is a lot going on in this story for the tale of a man who was executed at age 25. We see Ned evolve from a curious youngster to a bare-knuckle boxer to an outlaw who became an anti-hero cult icon. Witnessing the father figures he endured leaves little wonder why he turned out the way he did – an angry, cross-dressing outlaw leading the Irish rebellion in hopes of taking down the Crown. Ned is told that “a man can never outrun his fate”, and we know Ned’s fate upfront. We are there as Ned gives a motivational speech to the Kelly gang, and we watch in awe as they self-test their own body armor.

“My Dear Son …” are the first words we hear as Ned writes a letter promising to tell no lies about his history. The letter acts as somewhat of a framing device for the film, and covers the entirety of the Kelly Outbreak, as it’s now referred. There have been numerous projects (movies, mini-series, docu-dramas) over the years, including Mick Jagger (1970) and Heath Ledger (2003) as those who have portrayed Ned Kelly on screen. Director Kurzel and cinematographer Ari Wegner offer up quite a stylish look for this vast wasteland, and even utilizes some Terrence Malick-type editing for effect. Even the closing credit sequence is a work of art. It’s a family affair for director Justin Kurzel, as his brother Jed Kurzel delivers the music, and Justin’s wife Essie Davis plays Ned’s mother. It’s certainly not a typical western, and Ned is difficult to relate to as a character, but the look and style of the film keep us engaged. Perhaps the oddest decision was to have MacKay clean-shaven, as most of us have seen the photos of Ned Kelly and his beard … a beard that seemed to inspire modern day hipsters. Filming took place at Old Melbourne Gaol, which was the actual spot where Ned Kelly was hanged. His last words were: “Such is life.”

watch the trailer:

Leave a Comment » | Drama, Western | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by David Ferguson