Armageddon Time, 2022.
Written and Directed by James Gray.
Starring Banks Repeta, Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong, Anthony Hopkins, Jaylin Webb, Ryan Sell, Teddy Coluca, Tovah Feldshuh, Marcia Jean Kurtz, Andrew Polk, Lauren Yaffe, Dane West, Dupree Francois Porter, Griffin Wallace Henkel, Marcia Haufrecht, Eva Jette Putrello, Landon James Forlenza, John Dinello, Jacob Mackinnon, and Jessica Chastain.
SYNOPSIS:
A deeply personal coming-of-age story about the strength of family and the generational pursuit of the American Dream.
Writer/director James Gray’s Armageddon Time is an autobiographical reminiscence of 6th grade and all the complicated social and racial dynamics specific to Ronald Reagan’s road to election as US president. There’s nothing wrong with that, but for most of its duration, one desires spending time with the disadvantaged minority characters on the other side of that equation, or at least a better balance.
Growing up in Queens, New York, young Jewish boy Paul Graff (the stand-in for James Gray, played by Banks Repeta) is friends with Black boy Johnny Davis (Jaylin Webb). Both are prankster troublemakers (introduced by disrupting the first day of class), with Johnny being held back a year. None of this is helped by a prejudiced teacher quick to assume Johnny is the one responsible for disrespectful shenanigans, but he is clearly a bright and intelligent child with a loving affection for astronauts and space exploration.
Meanwhile, Paul appears to have ADHD and no interest in traditional learning (some tests are run on him as family and teachers wonder if he is slow in the head), but he loves drawing and wishes to be an artist someday. It’s a hobby that his grandfather Aaron (a whimsical and warm Anthony Hopkins quick to launch into justifiable cheer-worthy antiracism tirades whenever Paul is conflicted about his current friendship with Johnny and new friends that casually drop racial slurs) supports, much like he does everything about his son’s choices (whereas his wife is worried about the integration of Black children into the public school system).
There is unmistakably a divide in social status between these families (Johnny is looked after by his grandmother, apparently losing her memory) and an interest in examining the differences between public and private schools (Paul’s brother Ted, played by Ryan Sell, is enrolled in one, and cinematographer Darius Khondji subtlety captures the differences without the period details drawing too much attention to themselves).
It’s also understandable why James Gray is fixated on centering his Jewish family (this is pulled from his past, after all), but Armageddon Time is far more intriguing whenever Johnny is on screen. When he claps back at the teacher, saying, “you’re the one teaching me,” after being criticized for failing sixth grade the first time or provides care for his grandmother (who bafflingly only appears for 30 seconds), there’s a stronger sense of the inequality on display through a character more worth spending time with.
That’s not to say Jewish people had it easy, but this particular family is privileged and, in some instances, aware of that. Jeremy Strong’s Irwin is a complex father figure (the actor also delivers a multilayered performance that ranks as the best here), freaking out upon hearing that Paul got into trouble for smoking alongside Johnny, kicking down the bathroom door, and violently whipping the boy with a leather belt before explaining that he is not allowed to remain friends with him. Anne Hathaway’s Esther (who barely has anything to do despite receiving top billing, which is not a criticism but more of an observation) assures Paul that it’s not because Johnny is Black, but we have our suspicions.
It also doesn’t help that there is something off about the rebellious Paul as if Banks Repeta is getting too cutesy with the performance, even if that ship is righted once James Gray swerves into the dramatic and emotional heft of this story. Jaylin Webb delivers lines more naturally and engages viewers into his struggles that somewhat worsen the more he spends time with Paul, but not necessarily because of all, but rather the systems in place.
Across some dysfunctional family antics, a death in the family (lacking the emotion James Gray is going for, and then played off of as a cheesy manipulation tactic), and switching Paul from private to public school, Armageddon Time arrives at a fitting admission of this family benefiting from the way the world works.
As far as coming-of-age stories go, Armageddon Time is much bleaker and wants to wrestle with complex social and political factors, how one’s privilege and place in the world affects the surroundings, somewhat successfully doing so, but it never escapes the mind that maybe James Gray should have pulled back on the autobiographical focus to allow other elements of this place and time and characters to breathe. However, that might be what devotees of James Gray as a filmmaker and person crave, which would make the shortcomings easier to overlook.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
