Susan Granger’s review of “Armageddon Time” (Focus Features)
It’s often been said that while we are free to make our own choices, we can’t choose the consequences that accompany them.
“Armageddon Time” is all about making those life-altering decisions. Released at the end of last year with little fanfare, James Gray’s melancholy, semi-autobiographical , coming-of-age drama is definitely worth another look.
Set in 1980 in Queens, New York, it revolves around sensitive 11 year-old Paul Graff (Banks Repeta), an aspiring artist whose best friend, Johnny (Jaylin Webb), is Black.
In their sixth-grade class at PS 173, they’re known as the troublemakers but wide-eyed Paul realizes that, while his behavior is often excused, poor Johnny, who lives with his ailing grandmother, is invariably punished more severely.
Paul comes from a working-class Russian/Jewish family. While his parents – Esther and Irving (Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong) – insist that they’re open-minded liberals, they insist on transferring defiant Paul to an elite private school in Forest Hills after concluding that Johnny has become a bad influence on him.
But Paul’s aging grandfather Aaron (Anthony Hopkins) influences him the most, emphasizing the importance of speaking up against bigotry – urging him to “be a mensch” – and pointing out the agonizing regret that results from not doing what’s ‘right’ when it matters most.
Drawing on his own memories, writer/director James Gray draws a poignant portrait of a time and place. His casting choices are superb; the acting ensemble embodies the bittersweet humor, pathos and paradoxes of each of their characters with remarkable authenticity, particularly during the family meal scenes.
Striking a surprisingly contemporary chord, Fred Trump (John Diehl) is one of the school’s primary benefactors, and it’s Maryanne Trump (Jessica Chastain) who delivers an impassioned speech at an assembly, emphasizing the work ethic rhetoric that epitomized the conservative Reagan-era.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Armageddon Time” is a compassionately disillusioning, soulful 7. You can rent it for $5.99 on Prime Video & Apple TV or stream free if you subscribe to Peacock.
