A 20th Century Fox Picture, Written and Directed by Taika Waititi.
This is a film that I was really looking forward to and left the cinema feeling incredibly torn about. While it is undeniably a well made film and I have no issue satirising anything, I don’t feel the payoff actually justified the film.
My main issue with the film is it’s central character. He is a 10 year old boy who is a brainwashed Nazi fanatic, and there is clearly plenty of room there for him to see the error of his ways and be redeemed.
However, I think by the end of the film that Jojo has only seemed to reject the Nazi armband because he has a crush on a girl and the Nazi’s have lost, not because he realised how wrong he was. Obviously this is only my interpretation and others will see it differently, but this stopped me really connecting with the film.
However, it is very obviously well made in many aspects. Waititi’s script is packed full of funny moments and his directing style is continuing to improve, with many impressive flourishes here. The best thing he does is how he cast the film.
Actors like Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson, Alfie Allen and Stephen Merchant all have their moments to stand out, mainly in comedic performances, and they do it very well.
Roman Griffin Davis looks like a really talented actor and does a good job in a tough role as Jojo. During most of the scenes he shares with Archie Yates he is completely blown out of the water though and the hilarious Yates is going to be a huge star.
Taika Waititi plays an imaginary version of Hitler and he has some truly hilarious moments and his like delivery is spot on, although I can see why Waititi had to play the role himself as very few actors would’ve likely took it on.
The two best performances though come from Scarlett Johansson and Thomasin McKenzie.
Johansson plays a really complicated role as you can see the real kindness she has but also how she is trying to raise her son is a world gone crazy, while also maintaining her humanity and love of life. She brings a lot to this film.
McKenzie showed in Leave No Trace that she was destined to be a star and she cements that here. If her performance doesn’t work then most of the character motivations would not work. If anyone was to receive an acting nomination from this film, I’d rather it was her.
Rating = 3/5
Howe's World of Film and TV 