Nitram

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.

The main actor did an amazing job with the Aussie accent, as well as conveying so much while barely speaking. If you're not into arty, slow, quiet films then this won't be for you.

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.

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.