'Nitram' is a well-acted character study of Martin Bryant, the man who murdered 35 people and injured 23 others in Port Arthur, Tasmania in 1996. One would think such an emotional subject would punch you in the gut and leave you raw, yet the end result for me was, 'well, I guess that's more or less what he was like.'
That's not to say it's not a very good film. It's lovingly shot and features strong performances from some of Australia's finest actors, including Anthony LaPaglia, Judy Davis and Essie Davis (who gave one of the all-time great performances in 'The Babadook', in my humble opinion). And the subject of the film is convincingly portrayed by American actor Caleb Landry Jones.
However, the film does miss the mark on a few fronts for me. First and foremost, even from a superficial Google search, Bryant's story seems to be much more dysfunctional and unsettling than the one portrayed. A couple of notable violent incidents could have helped better establish the character. Also, there are entire characters and storylines that are entirely MIA that add a level of misery to Bryant's life that would have better set up his breakdown. By glossing over critical character-development moments, the end result is a more sympathetic character, a pretty normal guy, a loveable lunk who just wanted to be loved rather than a deeply disturbed individual.
Secondly, oddly for a film depicting such a heartbreaking and tragic moment in Australian history, there's very little suspense or emotion. I understand part of the aim is to capture the chilling nihilism of the monster who perpetrated the crime, but that doesn't mean the audience shouldn't feel something.
So in the end, a film that should have us on the edge of our seat and make us feel truly uncomfortable leaves us feeling not much at all-except sympathy for the one person who we should feel least sorry for.
That's not to say it's not a very good film. It's lovingly shot and features strong performances from some of Australia's finest actors, including Anthony LaPaglia, Judy Davis and Essie Davis (who gave one of the all-time great performances in 'The Babadook', in my humble opinion). And the subject of the film is convincingly portrayed by American actor Caleb Landry Jones.
However, the film does miss the mark on a few fronts for me. First and foremost, even from a superficial Google search, Bryant's story seems to be much more dysfunctional and unsettling than the one portrayed. A couple of notable violent incidents could have helped better establish the character. Also, there are entire characters and storylines that are entirely MIA that add a level of misery to Bryant's life that would have better set up his breakdown. By glossing over critical character-development moments, the end result is a more sympathetic character, a pretty normal guy, a loveable lunk who just wanted to be loved rather than a deeply disturbed individual.
Secondly, oddly for a film depicting such a heartbreaking and tragic moment in Australian history, there's very little suspense or emotion. I understand part of the aim is to capture the chilling nihilism of the monster who perpetrated the crime, but that doesn't mean the audience shouldn't feel something.
So in the end, a film that should have us on the edge of our seat and make us feel truly uncomfortable leaves us feeling not much at all-except sympathy for the one person who we should feel least sorry for.