Masterful explanation of a tragedy

On a spring day in 1996, 28-year-old Australian Martin Bryant packs weapons into a bag and heads to Seascape, a bed and breakfast located right next to the ocean in Tasmania. Bryant’s family had previously wanted to buy the business, but another couple won the bidding. Martin Bryant is convinced that this is what led to the father’s depression and subsequent suicide, and he shoots the host couple.

He then heads to a historical memorial and tourist destination in the small community of Port Arthur, where he shoots another 33 people dead and injures 23. The massacre is the worst in Australia’s history and created both a national trauma and stricter gun laws.

“Nitram”, whose title refers to the way the mass murderer’s name is pronounced backwards, is a film both praised and criticized. The critics believe that Justin Kurzel does not sufficiently condemn the perpetrator, but the fact is that this is exactly where a large part of “Nitram’s” strength lies. Daring to ask questions that do not have clear answers and to try to explain the enormous complexity that can lie behind a massive tragedy leads in this case to something masterful.

The mastery also lies in the performance of Caleb Landry Jones. His portrayal of the tormented, outcast and dysfunctional Martin Bryant won him Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year and any other choice would have been madness. With just a few words, he manages to make the perpetrator human, generating conflicting feelings in the viewer: a terrible discomfort and frustration but also some kind of understanding and empathy.

Judy Davis is also incredible as the main character’s mother, on the surface controlled but on the inside full of suppressed sadness and powerlessness. Anthony LaPaglia’s role as the tormented and timid father is also a pure display of anguish, helplessness and love.

The close-up and documentary photo evokes almost claustrophobia – you cannot protect yourself from the pain and vulnerability, the camera forces you to experience it instead of viewing it.

The fact that the massacre itself is ultimately never depicted also has a purpose in itself. “Nitram” is not really a film about it. It is an attempt to understand what led up to it, without ever apologizing for the explanation.