Armageddon Time is a drama, not an end-of-the-world thriller. Writer/director James Gray has concocted a poignant portrait that follows a predictable narrative arc, but the performances from its stellar cast are so powerful and authentic that it helps keep us absorbed.
Gray was inspired by his own life as the basis for the movie. It stars Banks Repeta as Paul Graff, a Jewish-American kid living with his middle-class family in New York City in 1980.
Anne Hathaway is his mother, the President of the PTA, and Jeremy Strong is his father who has an out-of-control temper. Paul is a bit of a rebel doing his own thing while trying to navigate his way through adolescence.
Jaylin Webb costars as Johnny, an African-American and Paul’s friend who has a chip on his shoulder and is constantly bullied by everyone around him including his teacher. One day, Paul and Johnny are caught smoking in the bathroom and Paul’s parents decide to send him to an elite private school in the hopes that he’ll mature and be like his older brother.
Paul doesn’t take too well to the new school and misses Johnny, as well as his old life. Anthony Hopkins plays Paul’s grandfather and a Holocaust survivor. He provides Paul with the necessary wisdom and compassion that the rest of his family sorely lacks.
What we get in Armageddon Time is a closely observed depiction of everyday life through the eyes of this one kid and how he attempts to grow up in a world to find his own identity and yet is swamped by the crushing expectations of his family.
The performances by Hathaway, Strong, and Hopkins offer up what the gravity this story requires, but Repeta and Webb are the real backbone of this story. Their friendship is one that feels totally genuine as two boys who are willing to have each other’s backs despite all the roadblocks that are put in front of them.
Again, this is not a true story, but it realistically captures a period of time and a family unit that wants to chase the American Dream, though they get lost along the way. That’s the buried theme throughout most of the movie.
Armageddon Time is engrossing with a wonderful cast, sharp direction, and writing and above all, it gets us involved in ways that are familiar yet lasting.
Grade: A-
(Rated R for language and some drug use involving minors.)
