Just because I don't cry doesn't mean I'm not hurting
Continuing my trip up The Guardian's top 50 films of 2022
#22 : Nitram
Deeply disturbing drama about mass killer Martin Bryant which shies away from depicting the Port Arthur massacre itself – but outstanding performances mean it is still a highly unsettling story.
I've heard of this because I saw various reviews that said it did a good job in telling a horrific story without glorifying the perpetrator - even so, I have to admit the phrase "too soon?" did cross my mind (although Wikipedia surprised me by telling me the "incident" happened in '96).
And, woah - The Guardian isn't wrong when it says it's deeply disturbing. Nitram (Caleb Landry Jones) is in his early twenties and he really isn't a happy boy - he obviously has learning and anger issues and his anti-social behaviour is a major source of stress for his parents (Anthony LaPaglia and Judy Davis).
But - a ray of hope appears in the very peculiar shape of Helen (Essie Davis) a rich heiress in her fifties who strikes up an unconventional friendship with Nitram, accepting him for who he is (which is good) whilst also pandering to his whims (maybe not so good). And I think that's probably enough to tell you, but it's fair to say that things don't end well - the sense of dread ratchets up "nicely" as the film approaches the end.
Caleb Landry Jones portrays Nitram and his troubles well - he has a very unsettling manner whilst still managing to generate some sympathy for the character. Judy Davis is also excellent as his mother - she's an extremely buttoned-up character who does love her son, but she doesn't like him and worries about what he might do. Anthony LaPaglia (I was trying to remember what I'd seen him in and had to check - he's very good in Murder One and Lantana, but sadly the role I remember him for most was Daphne's super annoying brother in Frasier with his TERRIBLE accent) has less to do as his father but manages to portray a slightly different style of parental concern (more hope than anything else). The only other person who has a meaningful role in the film is Essie Davis and in a lot of ways she has an even more tenuous connection to reality than Nitram, so she's quite an odd character but it's an effective portrayal.
The films users several interesting style of filming - it uses light, colour and sound very well to portray Nitram's confusion in particular. It also does something very weird with the general style inside Helen's house - it's very fuzzy and almost like infra-red film at times. There is also, of course, some absolutely gorgeous scenery involved - they have a lot of it down there.
It's an interesting tale although the film does suffers from the fact that you know things aren't going to end well - with quite a few of the scenes obviously signposting future trouble. It does also somewhat descend into horrific madness, but I guess that comes with the territory and it's hard to know what else they could have done.
A lot of it is actually pretty unbelievable, but if you look up the actual story it's considerably weirder - for example, when Martin Bryant first met Helen Harvey she was living with 40 cats, 16 dogs and her mother, who stayed in bed for two years with a fractured hip, whereas in the film it's just the one cat, about seven dogs and no mother. I'd say the adaptation is well done but I can completely understand those who argued that it was totally unnecessary - it doesn't add anything to the story but, to their credit, neither does it sensationalise it.
Hmmm - it's hard to know quite how to sum up my feelings on the film. It made me feel very uncomfortable at times but, taken at face value, I'd say it's a "good" film and it tells an interesting story. However, whilst I don't side with those who think it's totally unnecessary - I'd struggle to say it's really necessary either. Yes, the story is handled sensitively enough but given that it specifically makes the point that Martin Bryant was interested in coverage of Dunblane, it's hard to see what justification they can make for this film. All in all, an interesting one - which is available to stream on BFIPlayer and rent in all the usual locations.
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