Nitram

I have always been a fan of powerful independent films, that the big Hollywood studios don´t really care about. Films that will touch your soul, and heart, for a number of different reasons. I especially love independent films that not only offer amazing acting, but also deliver incredible characters. One of my absolute favourite independent films of all time, is the 1998 masterpiece known as Buffalo ´66 from director Vincent Gallo. This is one of those films i can watch over and over again, and never ger tired of. Buffalo ´66 have everything you could wish for, you have brilliant acting, amazing characters, really beautiful cinematography from Lance Acord ( who also did cinematography on the cult classic Lost In Translation, the best Bill Murray film ever ). The story of Buffalo ´66 is simple but very effective, where we meet Billy Brown ( Vincent Gallo ), who have just served 5 years in prison. He is planning to go home to his parents in Buffalo, New York. To impress them, he decides to kidnap a tap dancer named Layla ( Christina Ricci ), to show them his wife. He changes her name to Wendy Balsam, to make sure that everything sounds good. As they arrive to Billy´s parents Jan Brown ( Anjelica Huston ) and Jimmy Brown ( Ben Gazzara ), Billy try his best to impress his parents, but they care more about Wendy instead. In fact, Billy´s mother Jan is still upset that she missed one match with Buffalo Bill in 1966, because Billy was born, and if he never was born, she would have seen that match as well. The tension grows in this family, as Billy tries to handle the situation, but inside he is a ticking bomb. Buffalo ´66 is one of those films you don´t see very often, who knows exactly how to show a realistic portrait of a very destructive family, but also give a portrait of someone who feels lost, and really have no friends or family at all, just trying to exist. Vincent Gallo is not only brilliant as Billy Brown, but he also directed this film in such a powerful way, that i guarantee you will never forget this film once you have seen it. If you have not seen Buffalo ´66 for any reason, go get the film on DVD today. It is a masterpiece that you need to experience, and the best film Vincent Gallo have ever made so far. Since i love watching independent films, i try to check out films that are released all over the world. There are so many wonderful independent films coming out each year, and i wish i could see as many as possible. One of the films that i got really excited about to see, is a film called Nitram. I started hearing about the film a lot, especially after December 2021 at the 11th AACTA Awards ( 11th Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards ), when the film won 8 awards, especially for Best Film. A film based on the horrible story surrounding the 1996 Port Arthur Massacre in Tasmania, Australia, where 35 people were killed and 23 others were wounded, by the gunman Martin Bryant. I remember the story from 1996, since it was on headlines all across Swedish newspapers, and i remember some of the horrible pictures that was shown in newspapers. Since this film is based on the tragic story of Martin Bryant and what would happen in Tasmania in the spring of 1996, is this one of the most interesting films of the year, or is it not as good as i was hoping it would be?

Nitram ( Caleb Landry Jones ) is an intellectually disabled young adult who lives with his parents in Port Arthur, Australia. He loves fireworks and constantly use them, as he upsets his neigbors. He begs his mother ( Judy Davis ) to buy him a surfboard, after he sees an attractive girl with a surfer, but she refuses to buy him one. To make some money, Nitram decides to mowning local lawns, and this is where he meets a neighbor named Helen ( Essie Davis ), a retired actress and wealthy heiress. Nitram feels that he finally feels accepted with Helen, and decides to live with her. No matter what Helen can buy Nitram, and try to make him happy, he is still struggling with his inner demons. And when a car accident kills Helen, the whole world falls apart for Nitram. He can no longer control himself.

If you have been waiting for a film that have some really powerful acting, i can honestly say that Nitram have some of the best acting performances i have seen this year so far. Knowing the background story of this film, and that this film is based on the life of Martin Bryant, gives this story a completely different depth. You don´t really understand all the struggles that Martin lived with, not being able to handle himself or anyone around him. Not until you begin to learn what diagnoses he possibly have, the pieces of the puzzle becomes much clearer. Since i mentioned how brilliant the acting in this film really is, we have to talk about the actors. Lead actor Caleb Landry Jones ( who delivered a powerful performance in the 2017 film Get Out ) as Nitram, is definetely the strongest acting performance you will see this year. I have never seen Caleb this good in any film before, and if he keeps this level of acting going in the future, we might have one of the best actors of his generation. Caleb manage to capture everything you want to see in a character like this. All the anger, sadness, emotions, and also manage to capture the facial expressions where he have no remorse for what he is doing. To be able to do this as an actor, is very difficult to achieve. Legendary actress Judy Davis ( who i especially adore in classics such as Barton Fink and Naked Lunch ) deliver her strongest acting performance in many year´s as Nitram´s mother. The scenes where you see her filled with emotions, not knowing what to do with her son´s violent temper, you can actually feel her feelings as you watch her. How often do you see acting like this in these days? Actress Essie Davies ( who was brilliant in the Australian horror film The Babadook ) proves once more why she is so good at delivering strong characters, here as Helen. You get a sense that Helen is definetely an outsider, who lives in her own world. I have to mention legendary actor Anthony LaPaglia, who i always enjoy as an actor, but this may be one of his best acting performances in many years as Nitram´s father. Not only does Nitram have top quality acting, but the film looks really good with the gorgeous cinematography from cinematographer Germain McMicking ( who did cinematography on the really good TV series True Detective ). Director Justin Kurzel ( who directed the powerful Australian drama film Snowtown, a must see ) have definetely made the best film so far in his career with Nitram. He really worked hard to make this film hit all the right notes, and he knows exactly how to capture the audience with the incredible strong story that this film offer. Not only is this a very rough movie to watch for psychological reasons, but i guarantee you will be affected by the honest portrait of man who loose all control, and see no way out.  We may have many months left until 2022 ends, but i have no problem saying that Nitram could be the best film of this year, unless any other title surprise me. If the film is still runnning in cinema where you live, go and see this film now. You won´t find a more powerful film experience than Nitram this year.

Rating: DDDD