Category: Movie Reviews

As one of the year’s most controversial releases, Jojo Rabbit might not immediately seem to sit well as a feature during the Christmas break. The latest film from director Taika Waititi (Hunt for the Wilderpeople & Thor: Ragnarok) became infamous earlier this year when plot details and trailers were released. Jojo Rabbit is, at least in part, a comedy set against the backdrop of all that came with World War II – featuring a ton of Nazi references, a bumbling Adolf Hitler and some dark humour that succeeds largely on shock value alone. However just below the surface is the real heart of the film, a coming-of-age drama about family, love, how we judge others and ultimately how we view ourselves. It’s a truly odd mix that somehow comes together to create one of the most charming and unconventional films of the year, right as 2019 draws to a close.

Johannes “Jojo” Betzler (Roman Griffin-Davis) is a 10-year-old boy living in a small, Nazi controlled town during the last drawn-out weeks of World War II. Somewhat of an outcast, the desperately lonely Jojo finds belonging as a member of the local “Hitler Youth” group – a junior Nazi training camp where kids are essentially moulded into communist fanatics. Jojo swears complete loyalty to the party even if to just be accepted by those around him, and he is constantly spurred on by his imaginary friend Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi himself). The boy’s idea of the fuhrer is skewed a bit by Jojo’s age – creating an immature, zany and over-the-top version of the Nazi leader that begins the film as a voice of reason, before becoming a measure of Jojo’s maturity as time moves on. Following the recent loss of his older sister Inge, and with his father off on the front lines, Jojo lives only with his aloof and often absent mother Rosie (Scarlet Johansson). Rosie is strong-willed and fiercely protective of her son, however it’s quickly apparent that she doesn’t share her son’s love for the Nazi regime. All of this tension comes to a head in the early moments of the film, when Jojo discovers a Jewish girl named Elsa Korr (Thomasin McKenzie) hiding in the walls of his home.

This is all set up quite early in order to focus the film on its young lead, exploring how easily he’s conflicted by the adults around him. By revealing the stowaway, Jojo would be pleasing his ‘inner Adolf’ and winning him points with the party he dreams to be in. Yet doing so will no doubt bring heavy suspicion down on his mother – as well as a definite and grim end for Elsa. Each of the three core characters convey this struggle beautifully, with Griffin-Davis in particular proving to be another immensely talented child actor in a time where Stranger Things and the It films have raised the bar. McKenzie is also perfect for her role as a young girl who has lost everything she’s known, and must now hide for her life within the walls of a home decorated in Nazi paraphernalia. Both her character and Jojo share most of the deeper moments on screen, aside from the limited yet strong scenes featuring Johansson’s Rosie. Her character fights most of her battles off screen, however she makes herself known when she is around and it’s quite clear that Jojo remains everything to her – despite their differences.

Where these three characters shine, it’s Waititi’s spin on the fuhrer that is most likely to draw a mixed reception. While belittling or tearing shreds off of the real life tyrant has been accepted in cinema for a while, Hitler has never quite been portrayed as he is here. Using the character’s existence as an imaginary friend to his advantage, many of the fuhrer’s jokes land purely based on how outlandish and bizarre he is compared to the man on which he’s based. This humour works for the most part and his appearances are few and far between, however it’s worth noting that the character will likely polarise some viewers. On that note, Jojo Rabbit also doesn’t pull back too much when laying out the dark reality of what it was to live through the time of Nazi rule in Germany. There’s a fair amount of violence, fear and death running through the film’s key moments, and dark humour is often used to take the edge off of the story’s more grim and sombre areas. There are a few characters that walk this fine line during the course of the film as well, including Rebel Wilson’s Fraulein Rahm and Stephen Merchant’s Captain Deertz. Both Nazi familiars, the two are good examples of how the tale of Jojo Rabbit plays out overall – at times goofy and laughable, but at others sinister and downright evil.

Yet for every Fraulein Rahm and Captain Deertz, there are characters such as Captain Klenzendorf (another great turn by Sam Rockwell) and his subordinate Finkel (Game of Thrones‘ Alfie Allen). Both characters also rank within Hitler’s army, however they’re made more complex and deep compared to the usual ‘evil Nazi’ caricature. Rockwell’s character in particular gets a strong character arc, seeming to take joy in subverting the audience’s expectations wherever possible. Jojo’s only friend Yorki (Archie Yates) is also a great addition; another boy aiming to join the ranks as a soldier for the Third Reich. With an infallibly carefree attitude and endless positivity, Yorki is often the comedic relief when on screen – seeming to only be involved in an adult’s war because there was nothing else to do. It’s interesting that Jojo Rabbit features characters such as these, as it creates areas of grey where many other films built on the backdrop of World War II tend to deal in solely in black and white. Given director Taika Waititi’s Jewish background, the story could have easily taken a different route – however, to the film’s credit, he went and crafted something bigger here.

While Jojo Rabbit is a well scripted, sharp-tongued poke at the Nazis of World War II alongside some catchy 80’s German music, it’s not afraid to shy away from the evil of it all where it needs to. At the same time, some characters twist the expectation of who they’re often presumed to be, and the film tends to blend a number of themes together at once. This can understandably be too much for some audiences, and the humour may not be on taste for everyone, however Jojo Rabbit has a lot more heart than it initially leads you to believe. It’s a story designed to run you through a range of emotions, yet its ultimate aim seems to be one that makes us consider how we look at ourselves and, more importantly, those around us. It’s certainly not conventional and rarely pretty, but Jojo Rabbit has enough emotional weight and wholesome themes to end a year of quality films on a high.

Jojo Rabbit stars Roman Griffin-Davis, Thomasin McKenzie, Scarlett Johansson, Taika Waititi, Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson, Stephen Merchant, Archie Yates and Alfie Allen – In cinemas now.