![]() After he was sentenced to life in prison (where he remains to this day), Bryant was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome and deemed to have an IQ of 66, roughly the same as an eleven-year-old. From the very start, Bryant was beset with mental problems that made him act aggressively towards others and hold little concern for human safety. The film tells the life story of Tasmanian native Martin Bryant, who eventually was responsible for the largest massacre by a single person in Australian history after he killed 36 people at Port Arthur in 1996. ![]() He tried to recompose himself a few years later by going back to his roots with the Australian true-crime-thriller "The True History of the Kelly Gang." The relative success of that film didn't prompt Kurzel to return to the big studios, instead, he has doubled down on his newfound career path with "Nitram", which premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. However, Kurzel wasn't able to make the leap into studio filmmaking, as the film was a critical and commercial bomb. After that film's critical success, Hollywood came knocking as he was offered, and accepted, to direct the big-screen adaptation of the popular video game franchise "Assassin's Creed", which allowed him to reteam with Fassbender and Cotillard. He also was given the promotion of competing in the main competition of Cannes. That film's success immediately gave him the confidence to helm a much more violent and haunted adaptation of Shakespeare's "Macbeth", with Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard in the lead roles. Kurzel broke onto the scene in 2011 with his feature debut, "The Snowtown Murders," which played as part of the Cannes Critics Week. *Watched at Cannes 2021 World Premiere* The career of Australian director Justin Kurzel, still very much in an early phase, has been one filled with drastic ups and downs. 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. 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. ![]() 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. 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. 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). 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. 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. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |