Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

Jojo Rabbit 

This is a hilarious satire about World War II that is much needed in todays political climate. Taika Waititi Has crafted one of the smartest and funniest comedies I have seen in a long time. The film yes it is a comedy as it is very much similar to Mel Brooks’s style of filmmaking as well as the Monty Python films as those films I just listed have a very specific kind of style and humour brought to those films and those films in particular is what this film very much reminds me of style wise and comedy wise. What is also so great about Jojo Rabbit is that it isn’t a one dimensional film it is a comedy that has a lot of heart and soul to it as the film does deal with very heavy handed issues in a very comedic way but also it knows when to take it seriously and show the more emotional aspects of its subject matter. This is one of the most wild, funniest, well acted and well written films of the year and a true blast to be had. 

Firstly, Taika Waititi  has crafted a true breath of fresh air in the comedy genre with his brilliant direction and outstanding screenplay as I noted before the film isn’t a one trick pony it has such depth to it in ways you don’t expect it to. As from the surface it seems like a satire on Nazis and the political climate of World War II but it has so much more to the story then just that as it deals with some truly heartbreaking moments and in a very realistic and honest way that makes you tear up and I love the fact that even though it is a satire that easily could of just ridded it out for the entire film but instead went the route of layering the story with great complexity and originality. As the film feels like something you had not ever seen before and I love that because this film makes some very bold moves narrative wise and I know that people have been divided on their thoughts on the film due to its depiction of Nazis. I thought the film brought a splash of great dark humour to the landscape of this story but also be able to show the brutal truth of what was going on and not sugar coating or shying away from the more serious aspects of it. That is a massive strength the film has is its ability to be aware of its tone and when to shift The film is perfectly balanced with its tone and Taika has truly outdone himself crafting to what I think is his best work yet. 

Secondly, The performances in this film is freaking fantastic! Roman Griffin Davis gives a incredible debut performance in this film really crafting a fantastic leading performance with such effective emotional strength. Thomasin McKenzie also gives a great performance in this film that shows her emotional struggle but also her ability to show her dry sense of humour as well she did a marvellous job here. Everyone involved in the film all are great from Scarlett Johnson to Sam Rockwell every performance in this film is astonishing as their are great comedic performances but also dramatic performances with hints of comedy in them the entire cast all elevated to another level of great I can’t call just one performance better then the rest as they all truly give solid work that deserves to be recognized. 

Lastly, Jojo Rabbit is one of the most complex and original films I have seen in years. As it gives a hilarious satire but also be able to double down and give the heavy handed emotional punch when it needs too. The film is so well acted with award caliber performances as Taika has crafted a film with such originality and heart and soul you will laugh, cry and cheer Jojo Rabbit is truly a engaging film from start to finish and a film that deserves to be seen over and over again. 

This film centres around A boy who is being trained to be a Nazi in World War II and has an imaginary friend who is Hitler and one day he finds his mom has been hiding a Jewish girl in his house to protect her 

Rated PG - 13 : for mature thematic content, some disturbing images, violence, and language

Roman Griffin Davis : Roman gives a incredible screen debut performance in this dark comedy! Roman Griffin Davis has never acted before on a motion picture and after seeing what he Brought to this film I  can’t wait to see what he does next. As He delivers one of the best leading performances from a young actor I have seen since Jacob Trembly in Room. He gives a incredibly layered performance full of conflicting emotional depth that wowed me from start to finish. He plays a kid who dose not know what he wants and should be doing what 10 year olds should be doing and not going to war he brings all this to the screen in such heart hitting realism.  He also can deliver some really funny moments in the film as well but for the most part he plays the role as serious as possible and their are some truly heartbreaking moments in this film and he is more then capable to step up to the the plate and deliver what is required in each scene emotionally. As he is so emotive with his eyes and their is such pain and heartache behind them and the way he delivers his lines with such impact hits you like a punch in the chest as he lifts the words off the page and gives them such meaning and really commits to each frame of this film and showing such incredible layers of his character but also his performance as while. He can be very funny with dry moments of comedy that are so well timed and then the next be in a puddle of tears and bring such heart wrenching emotion the scene. I was truly blown away with his work here it is one of the most complex and mature young child performances I have ever seen it is truly an astonishing performance  that will amaze you. 

Thomasin McKenzie : McKenzie delivers another hard hitting emotional performance! McKenize amazed the crap out of me with her performance in Leave No Trace. Here she brings another great emotional turn as a Jewish girl in hiding hoping to stay safe. She plays the character with such emotional sensitivity and restrain as he at first glance is very distant with the boy but once they start talking more we find out much more about her and her family but also the struggles and pain she faces and she brought that to the surface with such a raw and authentic approach to the character. As she is in many ways a leading performance in this film as well as she is almost in every frame of this film. She brings a great deal of comedy as well but dry and dark but it works as she broadens her horizons as an actor and shows her ability to show humour but at the appropriate time and when the right time to and it would land greatly as she brought such a range of emotions to this character that was such interesting to watch unfold onscreen. She played the more serious aspects of her character so heartbreakingly honest as you can see the scared look in her eyes and soul as well as when she spoke she was so gentle and with her voice you can hear the emotional pain as she commits fully to the character giving it such life with great amounts of emotion that is so effective and engaging to watch. She is really making a name for herself and she once again dominates the screen with a heartbreaking authentic performance that captures your attention from the first frame and to the very end. 

Scarlett Johnson : Scarlett Johnson gives one of the best performances of her career! I had been hearing so much about her work in this film and a lot of people had been praising her work in this film and I can see why now she is amazing. She plays the mother of the main character and she has a great handful of moments she shines in as she plays the character with such a warmth and optimistic view to the character that you can’t help but fall in love with her character instantly. Scarlett is not in the film much as I thought she would be but when she is in the film she chews up the scenery with such incredible style. She brings this very emotionally vulnerable approach to the character in a way I hadn’t seen her ever before. As I had seen her show a great amount of range in a lot of her films but nothing to this degree for the entire film she plays it very serious and she does an outstanding subtle job at conveying her emotions in a powerful way without having to express it so loudly and I love that she just had this grace and poise to her that made you engage with her the moment she stepped onscreen. She has a moment where she has this scene with McKenzie’s character and she wells up in tears but holds it back and try to remain strong as she has to and that scene she says so much with her lines but also emotionally says so much with saying so little as well she just acted every scene so powerfully and to an emotional degree we had not seen her go before and it truly is the best performance of the film she deserves to be award everything for her work in this film as she brings one of strongest performances period. 

Taika Waititi : His performance as Hitler is one of the funniest performances I have ever seen in recent memory!  He brings this very spoofy and stylistic look to the most sinister person in human history. He had to be extremely careful to how he played this character as he plays him in a comedic sense that anytime he appears onscreen explodes the scene with his loud and over the top acting that is so perfect for the role because I wouldn’t want it any other way. He springs his words to life with such strong comedic affect that you are laughing so hard your stomach will hurt as he embraces this role as much fun as possible. Their is two moments he actually does play it quite serious and for those scenes I was impressed by his range an versatility within this film as he can be incredibly over the top and jokey and then quite dark and serious and Taika brings the emotional shift needed in order to play this character and it is one of the best comedic performances I have seen all year he looks like him but plays a massively heightened version of him that chews up every scene he is in this is definitely Taika’s best performance so far that I have seen. 

Taika Waititi : Take Gives outstanding direction here his best direction yet to be quite honest! He as I said has written one of the most original and complex dark comedies that I have seen in a very very long time! He didn’t take the source materiel to seriously but at the same time he had to be quite careful to what he was joking about as it is a touchy topic for obvious reasons I don’t need to go into. But he walks that fine line between really dark humour and dramatic as he has the great style of comedy woven throughout this whole film in such brilliance but then can layer it with such depth and heart to it that you really invest within these characters and the story being told and He hooks you from the second it starts to the very end. If it is from the style of it or the performances he created one of the most multi dimensional comedies which we don’t get much nowadays especially ones that try and take risks to touch upon touchy topics but in a comedic sense we don’t get those films anymore and he takes a big gamble here and it worked as he tells us the audience it is ok to laugh at this and then at the same time he knows when to pull back and show the truth and brutality of the situation with great tonal shifts Taika also gets fantastic performances from his cast while giving one of the most different but compelling films in recent memory his direction here is truly amazing for the topics he tackles and how he goes about doing it was genius as it is so layered with complexity and comedic but also dramatic honestly that mixed together perfectly overall a triumph from Taika that is his best directed film yet!