Director James Gray has explored the galaxy in ‘Ad Astra’ and the Amazon in ‘The Lost City of Z.’ Now he returns to his roots in Queens, New York to explore his own childhood. ‘Armageddon Time’ is a coming of age drama about privilege, class and racism. The cast is top-notch. The standout is Anthony Hopkins. He is the heart of the film. It is truly a special performance. The story focuses on that last stage of childhood when the world seems full of endless possibilities. It’s that moment when you begin to realize it is also filled with disappointment and loss. This is a sensational film that should get some love during award season. Put this one on your must-see list.
The time is 1980. The place is Queens, New York. Paul Graff (Banks Repeta) is 11-years-old and starting sixth grade. He’s a normal kid. He has a talent for drawing. In fact, he is caught by his teacher Mr. Turkeltaub (Andrew Polk) sketching a caricature of him as a turkey. Paul and Johnny (Jaylin Webb) get a good laugh out of it. They become comrades in arms. Johnny is a Black kid from a troubled home. Paul is from a middle-class Jewish American family. Johnny’s dream is working for NASA someday. Paul’s dream is being an artist. As we get to know these two, we observe how the cards are stacked against Johnny.
One day, Paul and Johnny get into trouble at school. It’s heartbreaking how Johnny is treated by the adults. Although both kids are equally guilty, they always seem to place more blame on Johnny as the instigator. Paul’s parents Esther (Anne Hathaway) and Irving (Jeremy Strong) are concerned about their son’s future. They feel that the only solution is to transfer Paul to a private school. The Trumps actually went to the very same school. As Judge Maryanne Trump (played by Jessica Chastain) lectures to the students at a rally, they will be rewarded for their hard work and not rely on a “free lunch.”
During recess, Paul hears a student use a racial slur. When he tells his grandfather (Anthony Hopkins) about the incident, he encourages him to stand up to those that abuse others. It’s a heartwarming scene. He tells Paul about his own mother who witnesses her parents being killed because they were Jewish. The grandfather tells him that he must be “a mensch.” Paul is confronted with the difficulty of fitting in at his new school and distancing himself from Johnny. The adults believe Johnny is a bad influence on him. They believe they are acting in Paul’s best interests. It was 1980 and Ronald Reagan is being elected President. It was a time when getting into the right colleges was believed to be the best path to success and wealth.
‘Armageddon Time’ is a thought-provoking look at the way subtle racism rears its ugly head into our lives. By returning back to his childhood in the 1980s, Gray knows that remembering the past is the only way that we try not to repeat it. It is not all bittersweet in ‘Armageddon Time.’ It is simply an honest look at how we navigate from childhood to adulthood. We know it is not always a level playing field but we take our allotted “seat at the table.” The director looks back at the tough lessons he learned while growing up. We can only hope that his buddy Johnny made it out okay. ‘Armageddon Time’ is a nostalgic trip worth taking.
