Armageddon Time Review

Knowing when responsibility is due to an individual is a nerve-wracking and tense part of growing up. Armageddon Time understands that in its opening moments, where a teacher notes the need for his class to grow up and take responsibility for their own actions. These are the dying days of one generation passing down dead languages and cumbersome notes of a life well led that no longer applies to the future. School bonds are just as important as the consistent layering of cultural and impartial issues surrounding Paul Graff (Banks Repeta) and Johnny Davis (Jaylin Webb). There is an earnestness and innocence to this time capsule piece, one that reflects on the relationship between grandson and grandfather more than director James Gray would first manage.

Deeply moving that will be for those who have that relationship, Armageddon Time is exceptional. Truly exceptional. Anthony Hopkins is in fine form, his twilight years showing no signs of slowing down while Anne Hathaway plays the doting mother with great qualities that shine through. Jeremy Strong plays the man out of step with the rest of his family but still shows that lovable quality. There is sincerity found in that family unit which director Gray takes firm hold of and experiences fondly and with uniqueness. Lived-in personalities and pushing against their typecast the whole way through, the likes of Hathaway, Strong and Hopkins take on new challenges in already quality careers. Strong reigns in a Ray Romano impression, Hopkins’ performance as a doting grandfather is as touching as they are real and true.

Rebellion and frustration are core to Armageddon Time, a feature that shows the broader realities of love and hate in the family unit. Hopkins shines here in his role as Aaron Rabinowitz. Grandfatherly wisdom, holding firm the family line and keeping things altogether, but even in that touching performance and the gradual calmness of his work, there is a failure to capture the message. Gray uses these performances as a conduit for commentary on discrimination and hate for one another. It is telling and obvious the whole way through, from its introduction all the way down to the flagging history of New York in its cultural, 1980s status. There is more focus delivered to the lives and lies of living in The Big Apple than there are to the notes Gray would hope Armageddon Time would touch on.

Despite its failures on that class divide commentary, there is an innocence that fires through the harsh reality of the world and harsher histories of a family lineage. There is grief and loss, not just of people but of hope and the future. Where its social commentaries are on the nose and bleedingly obvious even to those unaware of what the context of the feature is, Armageddon Time pulls at the heartstrings in the throes of a changing America. Hopkins and Repeta’s on-screen chemistry is heartbreaking and intense, it is the real heart of Armageddon Time that pushes through with an emotive core that, for those who have experienced it, will hit twice as hard. It is hard to find many movies set across the pond that feel almost cemented in autobiographical, relatable prose. Armageddon Time works so well for all the wrong reasons.