Direction: James Gray
Country: USA
Armageddon Time is a simple coming-of-age tale that addresses venomous social injustices and overwhelming gaps in the American society. Even tamer than director James Gray’s previous New York stories - We Own the Night (2017) and Two Lovers (2018) - and dealing with a finale that is not particularly surprising, the film, set in 1981 Queens, is definitely marked by enough evocative power. It’s an entertaining, down-to-earth vehicle that, holding nothing back, is more focused in honesty than in any desire to impress.
The film’s title may suggest another sci-fi incursion like Ad Astra (2019) or another plunge into adventure like The Lost City of Z (2016). Instead, Gray mounts a period drama film inspired by his own childhood experiences. The personification of himself at childhood comes as Paul Graff, a Jewish-American boy who wants to be an artist. Young actor Banks Repeta gives the character life, showcasing the struggle of a kid against racial discrimination in the family and at school, a fact that is further intensified when he is caught smoking weed in the school’s bathroom with his rebellious black friend, Johnny Davis (Jaylin Webb).
Uncomfortable and disoriented, he deals with disillusionment with more boldness than fear, not thanks to his caring mother (Anne Hathaway) nor his volatile father (Jeremy Strong), but with the help of his beloved grandfather Aaron (Anthony Hopkins), whose wise advice he listens attentively. The idea that’s hard to fight, but one can never give in is taken by Paul with hope and fortitude.
A careful stylization by cinematographer Darius Khondji, who had worked with the director in The Immigrant (2013), creates a particular tonality inspired by Marcel Proust’s classic In Search of Lost Time. Gray put his passion into staging his painfully vivid memoirs, creating a nuanced, delicate film with a strong anti-racist message.
