Nitram
"Nitram" is a disquieting docudrama concerning the deadliest mass shooting in Australian history.
Film Yap is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Director Justin Kurzel’s “Nitram” (now available in select theaters, on VOD and on AMC+) isn’t an easy watch, but it’s an important one.
“Nitram” (pronounced “knit-ram”; not “night-rum” as I presumed) concerns the young man who perpetrated the worst single person mass shooting in Australia’s history at Port Arthur, Tasmania on April 28 and 29, 1996 wherein he murdered 35 people and wounded an additional 23.
Nitram (Caleb Landry Jones) is a disabled 25-year-old man who lives with his Mum (Judy Davis) and Dad (Anthony LaPaglia) in Port Arthur. He busies himself by setting off fireworks in his yard (much to his neighbor’s consternation) and selling firecrackers to local schoolchildren (much to the dismay of their teacher (Ethan Cook) – a former classmate of Nitram’s).
Nitram has aspirations of becoming a surfer after meeting the pretty Riley (Phoebe Taylor) and her surfer boyfriend Jamie (Sean Keenan) at the beach. Mum dismisses this notion and refuses to buy Nitram a surfboard as she’s of the opinion that it’ll become another discarded hobby.
Looking to make some money, Nitram offers to mow his neighbor’s lawns. In doing so he meets Helen (Essie Davis of “The Babadook” and Kurzel’s “True History of the Kelly Gang”), a wealthy heiress and former actress, who hires him to walk her plethora of pooches. The two strike up a fast friendship. Nitram moves into a spare bedroom in Helen’s home and she purchases him an automobile – this despite the fact he doesn’t have a driver’s license.
Dire circumstances dictate that Helen bequeath Nitram $570,000 in property and assets. Nitram continues living in Helen’s house where he begins binge drinking and develops an unhealthy obsession with guns. Despite being unlicensed, this firearm fixation leads Nitram to buy a Colt AR-15 and shotgun from a local gun shop owner (Rick James … no, not that one). Sickening inspiration strikes when Nitram sees a televised news story about the shooting at Dublane Primary School near Stirling, Scotland.
“Nitram” made its premiere at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, where Jones won the Best Actor award for his performance. It received a limited theatrical release in Australia on Sept. 30, 2021 before being given digital release on the Australian streaming service Stan on Nov. 24, 2021. Despite being met with controversy in Tasmania, “Nitram” won eight awards at the 2021 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards – Best Film, Best Direction, Best Actor (Jones), Best Actress (Davis), Best Supporting Actor (LaPaglia) and Best Supporting Actress (Davis).
The accolades as well as the controversy are warranted. This quartet of actors is absolutely riveting. Jones, who’s been great in a lot of great movies (“Get Out,” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” “The Outpost”), is one of our best working young actors and does some of his strongest work to date. He clearly conveys Nitram’s need for acceptance and mental deterioration in equal measure. Davis and LaPaglia – two actors I’ve long admired, but have rarely seen of late – expertly play Nitram’s parents’ disdain for and permissiveness of their son respectively. Davis brings a sensitivity to the sadness that surrounds Helen.
To the credit of Kurzel and his frequent collaborator screenwriter Shaun Grant, the shootings aren’t shown. These filmmakers aren’t attempting to be sensationalistic, but rather are charting the course by which tragedies such as this occur.
I applaud Australia and the United Kingdom for attempting to curtail the number of weapons in circulation through gun control laws, buy-backs and firearms licensing. I sincerely wish the United States would follow suit so we could get off this never-ending cycle of senseless violence … better parenting and easier access to mental health services wouldn’t hurt matters either. Then again, some folks are just plain ol’ evil … a notion “Nitram” doesn’t entirely dispel.