Director James Gray has a diverse filmography, in which films from very different genres are represented. I confess that I have not been excited by any of his films so far. Among his previous films, the ones that I found the most interesting and that give the feeling of emotional involvement are those dedicated to episodes of immigration and the integration of immigrants into the American society (‘Little Odessa’, ‘The Immigrant’). His recent production, ‘Armaggedon Time‘ continues this theme and is the film I liked the most in this series. I think the film was aimed at the Academy Awards, but it had the misfortune of Steven Spielberg releasing ‘The Fabelmans’ in the same season, which put it in the shadow both from the point of view of the viewers and from that of the critics. Rightfully so to a great extent, but there are also a few aspects where Gray‘s film succeeds as well or even surpasses its illustrious competitor.
‘Armageddon Time‘ is a coming-of-age story of a Jewish teenager in the New York borough of Queens. The year is 1980, the year of Ronald Reagan’s election as president of the United States, a period considered ‘apocalyptic’ by some American liberals, similar to how the Trump presidency is viewed more recently. The parallel is heightened by the fact that the elite school to which the hero will be transferred is the very school attended by the future president, and his father and sister (the judge) appear as episodic characters. The hero, Paul Graff, is different. He has artistic ambitions, but they are discouraged and even repressed by his parents, second-generation immigrants, who want to assimilate perfectly and advance socially. Only his grandfather, a survivor of the Holocaust, encourages him and provides him with moral guidelines. His only friend is an African-American boy, whose ambitions to become an engineer at NASA are even more challenged by the reality of racial and economic discrimination. When the two rebellious teenagers’ different ways of behaving put them in trouble, their friendship is put to the test.
The comparison between ‘Armaggedon Time‘ and ‘The Fabelmans’ is inevitable for those who have seen both films. The two films are autobiographical and the heroes represent the screenwriters in the most difficult periods of their coming to age. Both address the theme of Jewish identity in American society without going too deep. In both films, the figures of parents and especially mothers play an essential role. Anne Hathaway achieves in ‘Armaggedon Time‘ a memorable role, not inferior to that of Michelle Williams in Spielberg’s film. Seeing Anthony Hopkins is always a delight. Banks Repeta in the lead role also resists the comparisons brilliantly. ‘Armaggedon Time‘ fails only in the overly simplistic rhetoric of the message. Where ‘The Fablemans’ limits itself to telling the story (well) and letting the audience draw their own conclusions, James Gray‘s script seems to want to dictate what the audience should feel. It is precisely because of this that the character of the hero’s friend (well played by Jaylin Webb) fails in schematism. The ending of the film seems abrupt. We’d like to know what happened to the heroes in later years, but for that we’ll have to use our imaginations.