Nitram

"Nitram" is a Thriller movie in which we follow some events before the 1996 Port Arthur massacre on Tasmania that present how this massacre happened and what led to it.

I found this movie very interesting because showed us step by step the way to the 1996 Port Arthur massacre on Tasmania and made us understand the reason behind it and the importance of some measures that established after that. The direction which was made by Justin Kurzel was very good and he presented very well this sensitive subject from a different perspective. The interpretation of Caleb Landry Jones who played as Nitram was simply amazing and he made the difference on this movie. Some other interpretations that have to be mentioned were Judy Davis' who played as Mum, Essie Davis' who played as Helen and Anthony LaPaglia's who played as Dad. Lastly, I have to say that "Nitram" is an amazing thriller and I strongly recommend you to watch it.

Dark and disturbing, Nitram is a film that causes us anxiety even knowing what is coming. Or precisely because we know what is coming.

A lot has to fail for such tragedies to happen, but life and the world are really full of these failures that continue to happen every day and we continue to look the other way. Mental health and the way it is seen by society - including those who should protect us - is one of the themes that this film gets right. It is also right when it tells us that weapons will never be in the right hands because there are no right hands to hold a weapon. What is a good hand today may be a bad hand tomorrow. There is a long way to go on this path and not even the minimum of the minimums is done.

Caleb Landry Jones' performance is impressive. I saw the character in it. I saw the traumas, the difficulties, the attempts, the rejections, and all the confusion in his head. And, unfortunately, I also saw exits that he did not see. All the characters around him are well-created and deserve case studies in their own right. They all want something different for him, and many end up doing wrong in the process.

With a raw direction and a slow pace (a cut with less 10 minutes would have been beneficial), this is a film that knows what it wants and what it has to be. It's not supposed to be a pleasant experience. It is necessary. It is required. It exists because now and then we need a hard punch in the stomach to realize where we are all failing.

The fragility of serenity, shattered by hostility, insanity and marginiality, supported through ineffective laws, ignorance and depravity. An awful story of disbelief with performances that leave you aghast at the events that took place, the processes that led up to them, and wondering just how far away we are from the next one and if anything could ever be (genuinely) done in prevention.

Caleb Landry-Jones somehow is able to mimic an Australian accent which would have fooled me if I hadn't read a synopsis before watching the film. Nitram is an outcast with no friends who is mocked by others and it builds to a resentment of a society of so-called "normal" people. Circumstances lead to a horrible real life tragedy Down Under. The cast is superb and story well told. So far, Nitram is one of my ten best movies of the year.

Tackling one of the rawest subject matters in Australia history, Nitram is an unnerving yet delicately made and acted drama exploring the life of infamous Tasmanian mass murderer Martin Bryant, a man who is responsible for the cold blooded and nightmarish Port Arthur massacre of 1996.

An incident that shocked the usually peaceful lands down under and forever changed the gun laws of the nation, Bryant's horrific act isn't an incident many would care to revisit but thanks to the work of director Justin Kurzel and his awards worthy leading man Caleb Landry Jones, Nitram never veers into territory that is aimed at pure shock value or an exploration that tries to offer a sympathetic few to what made Bryant into the man he became.

Refraining from venturing deep into the actual incident itself or the aftermath of Bryant's actions, Nitram (the name used sparingly throughout the film for Jones's character) is about as delicate as a film could be about the life of a tormented and lonely soul, one who was clearly unable to live an everyday life with his parents (played well by Australian icons Judy Davis and a nearly unrecognizable Anthony LaPaglia) and then in his friendship with fellow recluse Helen (played by Essie Davis).

Similar in style and tone to Kurzel's most revered work, his exploration of another dark chapter in Australia's history, Snowtown, Nitram is an unflashy film built around its carefully constructed dialogue and everyday humans that for all intents and purposes are battling too stay afloat mentally and physically but while Kurzel finds himself back in form after the misguided Assassin's Creed and the rather disappointing True History of the Kelly Gang, the work of Landry Jones in his most difficult role to date should go down as one of the best in an Australian production in the last decade.

Often relegated to key bit parts in memorable films like Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Get Out or The Florida Project, it might not be a joyful role but Jones is a revelation in his portrayal of Bryant as the Texan born actor morphs into the skin of a character that wouldn't have been easy to come to terms, with the talented performer deserving of his Cannes Film Festival Best Actor win earlier this year.

Some may wonder no matter what at why exactly Nitram needed too be made but while it will undoubtedly be a film some need to avoid watching, Kurzel has created the Australian film of the year with a carefully considered and haunting examination of a human soul lost beyond repair.

Final Say -

It's not easy viewing and may be too real and raw for some but Nitram manages to tackle an extremely controversial subject matter in a masterful way and features a career defining performance from Caleb Landry Jones.

4 1/2 surfboards out of 5.