Rent Nitram (2021)

The joy of film. Not. - Nitram review by Alphaville

A ‘slow burn’ trumpets the trailer. Yep, you know what that means. A slow, bleak, actorly film about mental illness that ends in mass murder. However well-meant, is this really what you want from a viewing experience? Do check out the trailer first. That should be enough to put you off.

Disturbing Study of a Mass Killer - Nitram review by GI

A deeply unsettling drama based on the true story of Martin Bryant, a mentally disturbed man who carried out Australia's bloodiest massacre in 1996. The film charts the life of Martin, nicknamed Nitram at his school, and his dysfunctional family life with a weak father and shrill, hard-nosed mother, who has long since despaired of getting any love from her son and is acutely aware of his mental instability. Caleb Landry Jones plays Nitram as a belligerent young man whose behaviour lacks normal boundaries. He is befriended by a reclusive and wealthy woman, Helen (Essie Davis) and moves into her somewhat ramshackle large house. When she is killed in a road crash Nitram inherits her wealth and has access to enough money to begin collecting an arsenal of guns. Director Justin Kurzel stays away from showing the actual massacre which takes place at the film's end and off camera. This is arguably a good decision and one that prevents the awful events from becoming glorified although other film's that have depicted mass killers have included the event with positive and deliberately shocking results such as 22 July (2018) and Polytechnique (2019). This is a descent into madness narrative with a disturbing central performance and three other great ones from Judy Davis and Anthony LaPaglia as the parents and Davis as Helen. The film leaves open questions as to the whether Bryant was evil or just behaviourally ill and it's interesting to discover at the film's end that he didn't commit suicide like many mass killers or killed by the police but remains in prison to this day. The key message delivered though is the issue of gun control and ownership. From the scene where he is allowed by a gun dealer to buy weapons without the necessary licence to the quick decision by the Australian Government to restrict gun types and ownership after the killings. A strong, compelling character study, worth checking out.

Grim stuff! - Nitram review by NR

Not a film to cheer you up about anything!

Convincing performances,and a particularly ascerbic Judy Davis,but so depressing throughout.