Nitram review

The shocking events of April 1996, when a sniper opened fire in the popular resort town of Port Arthur in Tasmania – the worst massacre in Australian history – left an indelible mark on the country and its culture. Strict gun laws were introduced soon after, and in the following years the event was explored through music, theatrical performances and podcasts.

It comes now Nitram, Australian director Justin Kurzel’s visceral portrait of then 28-year-old shooter Martin Bryant and the events leading up to that fateful day. There is, of course, an obvious question as to whether we need another of those introspective studies of the motives behind mass murder, which undeniably give the perpetrator the desired attention and distract from the victims. (To be fair to the directors, this new drama never mentions Bryant, who goes by the school nickname, “Nitram,” and the violence is rightfully kept firmly off-screen.)

And this Bryant interpretation couldn’t be less glamorous; Played by mesmerizing Caleb Landry Jones in an award-winning performance for Best Actor at Cannes, the young man is lazy, socially inept and prone to tantrums, clearly suffering from undiagnosed mental health problems that they consider “strange”. His father (a nice Anthony LaPaglia) tries to be patient, his mother (Judy Davis, A +) barely hides his frustrations. A chance encounter with a wealthy older woman, Helen (a multi-level Essie Davis), leads to an unusual friendship; When Helen is killed in a car accident, she leaves Bryant her sprawling home and a life-changing sum of money. After his father’s subsequent suicide following a failed real estate deal, Bryant, already badly injured, begins to make his own deadly plans in an infamous montage of gun buying, target practice, and playing old records at super slow speed. speed.

Time Nitram can follow in the frayed footsteps of other mass murder films, trying to chart a logical path from difficult psychology to the extreme, there is no denying the level of skill shown in both stunning performance and impressive art. Working from one of his scripts again snowy city Yes The true story of the Kelly gang Sean Grant’s Kurzel (who seems drawn to stories of violent misfits) manages to avoid being overly understanding with Bryant, while pointing out the failures of treatment and the law that ultimately allowed him to live out his darkest fantasies.

The film reaches its inevitable climax when Bryant realizes what he sees as his true potential; So the text on the screen ominously informs us that gun possession levels in Australia have never been higher. However, it is difficult to know exactly who the film is aimed at. It could certainly be read as a sensitive memorial or a powerful warning that it could easily happen again. But there’s also the creepy feeling that he’s playing in the infamy-hungry hands of the real Bryant who, currently serving 35 life sentences with no parole, would certainly approve of being back in the center of the frame.