| Nitram | |
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 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Justin Kurzel |
| Written by | Shaun Grant |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Germain McMicking |
| Edited by | Nick Fenton |
| Music by | Jed Kurzel |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | |
Release dates |
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Running time | 112 minutes[1] |
| Countries |
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| Language | English |
| Box office | US$418,828[2] |
Nitram is a 2021biographicalpsychological drama film directed byJustin Kurzel from a screenplay by Shaun Grant.[3] The film revolves around the life and behaviors of a mentally distressed young man called "Nitram" (based onMartin Bryant), and the events leading to his involvement in the1996 Port Arthur massacre inTasmania. The film starsCaleb Landry Jones,Judy Davis,Essie Davis, andAnthony LaPaglia.[4][5]
Nitram premiered at theCannes Film Festival on 16 July 2021, where Jones won theBest Actor award for his performance. The film received alimited theatrical release in Australia on 30 September 2021, before a digital release on the Australian streaming serviceStan on 24 November 2021. It received widespread critical acclaim for Kurzel's direction and the cast's performances (particularly Jones and Judy Davis), although the film sparked controversy in Tasmania. The film later received eight awards at the11th AACTA Awards, includingBest Film,Best Direction,Best Actor,Best Actress,Best Supporting Actor,Best Supporting Actress, andBest Original Screenplay.
The film begins with real archive news footage from 1979 of a 12-year-old Martin Bryant being interviewed in a burns unit of a hospital after playing with fireworks. He is asked whether he has learned his lesson not to play with them again; he replies that he would play with them again.
Nitram is an intellectually disabled young adult who lives with his parents inTasmania. He regularly sets off fireworks, which upsets the neighbours, and sells his fireworks to schoolchildren. His father has recently been approved for a business loan with which he hopes to buy a bed and breakfast that Nitram will help run. Nitram begs his mother to buy him a surfboard after seeing an attractive woman with a surfer, but she is exasperated and refuses.
Nitram starts mowing lawns to make money. In the process, he meets a neighbour named Helen, a retired actress and heiress, who offers to pay him to walk her dogs. The two quickly become friends, and Helen buys him a car, despite Nitram not having a driver's licence and exhibiting a dangerous habit of grabbing the steering wheel when the two are driving.
Nitram becomes increasingly frustrated with life at home and tells his parents he is moving in with Helen, who permits him to stay in a spare room but insists that he get rid of hisair rifle as it upsets her. On his next birthday, Nitram introduces Helen to his parents; his mother tells Helen an anecdote about a young Nitram taking pleasure in the pain he caused her after pretending to be lost.
Despite having the funds for the bed and breakfast, Nitram's father's offer is rejected when another couple makes a higher offer, and he becomes despondent. Nitram asks Helen if the two can visitHollywood, Los Angeles, but on the drive to the airport the next day he once again lunges for the steering wheel, resulting in a devastating car crash that kills Helen and severely injures him. When questioned by police, Nitram lies that he was asleep at the time of the crash.
Nitram, having inherited Helen's decaying mansion and over half a milliondollars, starts to drink heavily. His mother asks him to help his father, who isseverely depressed. Nitram then desperately attempts to buy the bed and breakfast, but the new owners flatly refuse. Several days later, his father's body is found in a nearby river after an apparentsuicide. After he shows up to his father's funeral dressed in anelectric blue suit and hat, Nitram's mother refuses to let him attend, fearing he will embarrass her. The increasingly isolated Nitram begins to take frequent overseas vacations by himself and practises shooting with his air rifle.
While watching the news one night, Nitram sees a report about theDunblane massacre. He then becomes obsessed with guns, purchasing an unlicensedColt AR-15 andshotgun and ordering ahandgun. One day, he drives to the bed and breakfast his father wanted to buy and shoots the owners in an act of revenge, then drives to the café where Helen and his parents celebrated his birthday. After ordering food, he sets up a video camera, retrieves a rifle from his sports bag and opens fire on the tourists. At her home, Nitram's mother smokes, while the news report of the massacre played in the background.
On 17 November 2020, it was announced thatJustin Kurzel would direct a film focused on the 1996Port Arthur massacre, starringCaleb Landry Jones,Judy Davis,Essie Davis andAnthony LaPaglia.[8][9]Principal photography of the film began on 23 January 2021 and concluded on 13 March 2021 inGeelong,Victoria.[10]
The film had its premiere at theCannes Film Festival on 16 July 2021.[11] It was scheduled to screen in mid-August at the later-cancelledMelbourne International Film Festival[12] and later screened atCinefestOZ inWestern Australia in late August 2021.[13]
It received alimited theatrical release in Australia byMadman Films on 30 September 2021.[14] It was later released digitally on the Australian streaming serviceStan on 24 November 2021.[15][16]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes,Nitram holds a 93% approval rating based on 121 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The website's consensus reads, "Nitram asks viewers to face a gut-wrenchingly grim moment in Australian history—but rewards that effort with a gripping, well-acted character study."[17] OnMetacritic, the film has a score of 81 out of 100 based on reviews from 26 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[18]
Donald Clarke ofThe Irish Times wrote a glowing review of the film, "Respectful in its treatment of the final carnage, psychologically nuanced without offering the perpetrator an ounce of sympathy, Nitram is a character study of the highest order."[19] InNPR, Justin Chang praised the film, saying, "the movie avoids reducing them to a kind of climactic spectacle — a compassionate gesture at the end of this tense and despairing movie."[20] InThe Globe and Mail, critic Amil Niazi, wrote "It is the kind of work that presses on a nerve, begging you to stand up or tune out, but compelling you forward nonetheless – with its haunting portrayal."[21] Similarly, writing forThe Guardian, Luke Buckmaster praised the film, stating, "Another extraordinary achievement from Kurzel, who has a penchant for evoking gut-sinking emotional atmosphere."[22]
The film was met by widespread controversy within Tasmania itself. Kelly Spaulding, mayor of theTasman Council, which includes Port Arthur, condemned the choice to make the film.The Alannah and Madeline Foundation, which was established byWalter Mikac, whose wife and two young daughters were murdered in the Port Arthur massacre, released a statement also condemning the choice to produce the film. The Police Association of Tasmania, the union forTasmania Police, indicated it was worried how members of the union's mental health would be impacted.[23] TheStar Theatre in Launceston and theState Cinema in Hobart were the only cinemas in Tasmania to show the film. However, the State Cinema chose not to advertise the screenings.[24]
The production company invited arts ministerElise Archer to meet, but she declined. Screen Tasmania declined to fund the film. The then-Premier of Tasmania,Peter Gutwein, stated to the House of Assembly that it made him uncomfortable. Other state politicians includingBrian Mitchell, federal member for Lyons, andRebecca White, Leader of the Opposition, expressed concern.[25]
