Nitram

Directed by Justin Kurzel, Nitram details the day-to-day exploits of the mentally-unbalanced title figure (Caleb Landry Jones) and follows several characters, including his parents (Anthony LaPaglia and Judy Davis) and an oddball heiress (Essie Davis’ Helen), as they (fruitlessly) attempt to help him. Filmmaker Kurzel, armed with Shaun Grant’s screenplay, delivers an exceedingly (and sometime excessively) deliberate character study that features, at its core, an often spellbinding performance by Jones, as the actor slips into the skin of a disturbed and predominantly unlikable protagonist to an extent that’s nothing short of mesmerizing – with Jones’ first-class work here matched completely by his various costars. (Davis is especially impressive as Nitram’s weary mother, and it’s impossible, certainly, not to be floored by the riveting sequence wherein her character recalls a traumatic incident from Nitram’s childhood.) And although the slightly overlong runtime does pave the way for a few less-than-enthralling stretches, with this particularly true of a third act devoted mostly to Nitram’s solo exploits, Nitram, which also benefits from Germain McMicking’s lush, striking visuals, builds towards a gripping climax that ensures the whole thing ends on about as memorable (and thoroughly downbeat) a note as one could envision – which does, in the final analysis, cement the picture’s place as a top-notch endeavor from a somewhat hit-and-miss director.

***1/2 out of ****