Nitram

"Nitram" is a psychological drama film based on the events leading up to the 1996 Port Arthur Massacre in Tasmania. Directed by Justin Kurzel ("Snowtown", "True History Of The Kelly Gang") and starring Caleb Landry Jones, Anthony Lapaglia, Judy Davis, and Essie Davis, it is a disturbing film about one of the darkest days in Australian history.

In the 1990s, the mentally disturbed Nitram (Caleb Landry Jones) lives with his parents (Anthony LaPaglia and Judy Davis) in the suburbs of Hobart, Tasmania. Because of his lack of social skills and bizarre behaviour, Nitram is alienated from everyone around him, including his own family. One day, Nitram meets a reclusive woman named Helen (Essie Davis) after offering to mow her lawn and the two end up forming a close, platonic friendship. To the shock of Nitram's parents, Helen is supportive of their son's unsettling nature, believing him to be misunderstood. A short time later, Nitram and Helen's relationship abruptly ends which further plunges his mental state into darkness, resulting in horrific repercussions.

Even to this day, the 1996 mass shooting in Port Arthur remains Australia's deadliest massacre to be committed by a single person, resulting in the deaths of 35 people. In its aftermath, the federal government passed a law that restricted gun ownership across the entire country, with over 643,000 firearms voluntarily handed in to be destroyed. At the centre of all this was of course the perpetrator Martin Bryant, an intellectually challenged young man whose sole motivation for these killings still remain a mystery more than a quarter of a century later. The film "Nitram", which is "Martin" spelled backwards, does a solid job taking into consideration the circumstances this individual lived through, which is a job easier said than done.

This film picks the tricky subject matter of focusing around the life of a psychopath, which when done right can shed an educated light on what makes them tick but when done wrong can glamorise their actions and unintentionally depict them as heroes. There have been various movies made with this plot element, like "American Psycho" and "Taxi Driver", and while each of these films are otherwise great, they unfortunately become associated with unstable viewers who believe the main character did nothing wrong. Where I think "Nitram" succeeds the most is that it only ever shows the negative consequences of what the title character does throughout the movie.

For example, something Nitram sees as fun is veering a car into oncoming traffic by pulling on the steering wheel from the front passenger's seat. Because of his inability to distinguish between right and wrong, Nitram laughs hysterically at the driver's fear and is later upset when scolded for what he has done. Any sane person watching will realise that this is an extremely dangerous act that could result in their deaths and I think even the most socially isolated member of the film's audience could understand that anyone who does this is not a hero. Additionally, Nitram also lets off fireworks in the front yard of his house early in the morning, prompting fury from his neighbours. No matter how rejected from society someone is, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that this person is deranged and should be viewed as a serious problem.

In continuing his penchant for directing films about murderers, Justin Kurzel follows suit with yet another interesting feature that delves into the psyche of an infamous killer. What's clever is that Kurzel appears to liken Nitram's isolation from the rest of society to that of the state of Tasmania being geographically isolated from mainland Australia. He often shows Nitram driving alone through vast empty roads overlooking the ocean, as if he is calling out for a connection to regular people in his own demented ways. That's not to say Kurzel wants us all to feel sorry for a mass murderer, instead it seems more like he wishes for us to see how difficult it is for someone like him to acquire the help he desperately needs when everything is so far out of reach. Because of that, we gain a better understanding when we eventually see how his deplorable crimes play out the way they do.

There aren't too many depictions of a real-life murderer that have chilled me as much as how Caleb Landry Jones has portrayed him here. In addition to strongly resembling the actual Martin Bryant, Jones also cleverly mirrors the body language and mannerisms that one would expect to see in a true psychopath. I've only seen small amounts of footage of Bryant in a police interview but judging by what was there, Jones has clearly done his research as he nails every visual cue necessary to give a convincing performance of the notorious killer. To my surprise, Jones is actually an American actor playing an Australian character in an Australian film. This is an especially rare occurrence and it is even more rare to see him use such a flawless Australian accent that he even fooled an actual Australian like me. Usually I can pick a fake Australian accent right away but Jones blends in so perfectly with everyone else that he may as well be an Aussie.

Worth mentioning as well are Anthony LaPaglia and Judy Davis as Nitram's parents. Credited only as "Dad" and "Mum", likely to avoid association with Bryant's real parents, I particularly liked how the film touched upon their conflicting views on how they should raise their son. "Dad" clearly is more liberal in how he handles his son's strange behaviour, believing that if he allows some of the weirdness to slide that Nitram will eventually feel better about himself. On the other hand, "Mum" shows that she once had a more authoritarian way of stopping her son from acting out but has seemingly given up due to him never learning from his mistakes. It is these polar opposite parental techniques that likely helped exacerbate Nitram's twisted mental state, leading him to commit mass murder.

Essie Davis, who is also the wife of Justin Kurzel, does an equally great job as Helen, a wealthy woman who forms an unlikely friendship with Nitram. Her reclusive nature and inability to connect with other people is the common ground they share so it makes for some fascinating interactions with one another. At the same time, it can be frustrating to see her ignore the warning signs that Nitram is not right in the head but according to some research, this is what the real Helen was like. Without giving away spoilers, it is sad to see what happens to her in the end, though it certainly didn't come as a surprise all things considered.

Although I believe the film is successful in what it was trying to say, I need to be very careful as to whom I recommend it to. As mentioned above, it would be easy for any disturbed person to put on a film like this and begin to idolise the killer for their actions, treating them as a martyr of sorts. Bearing that in mind, I'd say that people with the correct mindset should see this with the understanding that these individuals are mentally unwell and need to be treated as such. Regardless of how bad someone may feel for a killer like Martin Bryant/Nitram, nothing justifies the murder of 35 innocent people and my deepest condolences go out to the victims' families who are still hurting all these years since such an evil act.

I rate it 8/10.

*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. Kurzel broke onto the scene in 2011 with his feature debut, "The Snowtown Murders," which played as part of the Cannes Critics Week. 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. He also was given the promotion of competing in the main competition of Cannes.

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. However, Kurzel wasn't able to make the leap into studio filmmaking, as the film was a critical and commercial bomb. 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.

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. From the very start, Bryant was beset with mental problems that made him act aggressively towards others and hold little concern for human safety. 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.

The title of the film (which is Martin spelled backward) comes from the nickname Bryant was given by childhood bullies, further hindering him from forming any human connections. American Caleb Landry Jones plays the titular character with brilliance, showcasing how far someone can go down the rabbit hole. Jones has made a small name for himself by playing supporting parts as sleazy weirdos in films such as "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" and "Get Out". In his first major leading role, he has knocked it out of the park. He produces the fear one gets from a horror movie villain while still bringing enough authenticity to fit the film's grounded tone. His win for Best Actor at Cannes was well deserved, and some Oscar buzz should be in order.

Also within the cast is frequent Kurzel collaborator Effie Davis, who plays Bryant's much older companion Helen, who lives alone in a rundown mansion with fourteen dogs and several dozen cats. Bryant and Helen formed a connection based on their status as social outcasts, which Jones and Davis are able to explore. Their interactions together are awkward and fractured, and never answer the question of exactly what kind of relationship they share.

Anthony LaPaglia and Judy Davis, both of whom are superb, portray Bryant's parents, who have differing perspectives on how they should keep their son safe. LaPaglia prefers to give Bryant a bit of freedom in hopes that he will figure out the world for himself, while Davis feels that he is incapable of doing such a thing and must be kept on a short leash.

Making a biopic about a country's worst human offender brings with it a lot of trap doors, such as vindicating the perpetrator or glorifying the harm that they caused. Thankfully, Kurzel avoids those errors as he approaches the film with a matter-of-fact style that only wants to illustrate how this event was allowed to happen. Abandoning the flashy style he is known for, Kurzel lets the actors and simple camerawork tell the story. I was reminded of Gus Van Sant's "Elephant" while watching the film at its world premiere. There is not one singular grand answer as to why this happened and how it could have been stopped, simply because there isn't a one-size-fits-all response. All we can do is look back on what happened and see what can be done for the future, which Kurzel doesn't seem to have much hope for as his postscript explains how the gun laws enacted as a result of Bryant's actions have not been properly enforced, opening the possibility of this happening again.

Justin Kurzel's "Nitram" was one of the best films out of the Cannes Film Festival as it explores a real-life tragedy with both grace and severity. While my body hated the experience of watching the film because of the stiff muscles I was left with due to the intensity, my mind was left with a better understanding of this dark chapter in human history.

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.

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.

Nitram is the difficult story of a very emotionally disturbed young man and the circumstances of his life that led to utter tragedy. The film is more a character study than anything else and for that reason it can be very hard to watch. Caleb Landry Jones shines in the leading role and engages the viewer in this sad and tragic story, fully encompassing the suffering and cruelty of the real life man the story portrays. I don't think enough can be said about his performance, but this film won't be for everyone.