Nitram

Cert - 15, Run-time - 1 hours 52 minutes,

Director - Justin Kurzel

“Are you sick?” eventual mass-shooter Martin Bryant (Caleb Landry Jones) is asked whilst looking for his medication. “No” he responds, “I just get sad sometimes”. It’s a line that begins to echo throughout Nitram - the name used to taunt and bully him back at school, and the only thing we hear him rarely being referred to as - as the central figure’s psychology is looked into in the build up to the 1996 Port Arthur shooting which he would commit.

Perhaps the scene where this echoes most is between mum (a sublime, scene-stealing Judy Davis) and son quietly sat at the table as they finally begin to open up about the thoughts and emotions swirling in their respective minds. Up until this point, feelings have been tightly locked in for every character, only slightly given away in hints of dialogue - where the indication is perhaps a lack of understanding as to what Martin is feeling in his mind - all to be unleashed in this one effective moment, tinted with hostility between the pair.

Yet, fear lingers throughout as tensions escalate, mostly in regards to the knowledge of where the film is going. In particular two extended scenes in a gun shop; discussing range, power, ammo, licenses, etc are scarier than a number of recent horror films. It’s genuinely concerning both within the film and when thinking of far-too-recent-events.

Where the film truly succeeds is in its unshowy styling. It allows the matter-of-fact nature to be clearly displayed, reminding of Gus Van Sant’s Elephant - looking into the figures going about their day in the hours before the Columbine massacre - it’s a naturalistic piece of work that allows for the mind of the central figure to be more on display, and yet also more locked-in throughout.

Even when spending time with retried actress Helen (Essie Davis), who he eventually moves in with, there feels to be a conflict of expression and thoughts within the character who likes to yank and push steering wheels whilst someone else is driving. Amongst the subtle points regarding conversations about mental health scattered within Shaun Grant’s screenplay the film also asks as whether the eventual tragedy was always in the central character.

Nitram is certainly pitched as a slow burn. It adds to the increasing levels of fear, dread and tension, particularly in the third act. While this means that things generally take a bit of time to establish and come together once the second half is reached they manage to flow better as we view more into Martin’s mind and his reactions to the world around him.

Certainly this will be a hard watch for a number of potential viewers; it’s meant to be. But, Nitram is effective because of this; once the elements are properly established and the film looks at the thoughts and emotions of not just the central character; but to some extent those around him too.

Jamie Skinner - Four stars