Directed by: James Gray
Starring: Banks Repeta, Anthony Hopkins, Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong, Jaylin Webb, Jessica Chastain
Set in 1980 Queens in the weeks leading to Ronald Reagan's presidential election victory (met with a "there goes the neighborhood" type of response by Anne Hathaway's Esther), Armageddon Time moves with unease and untidiness for Paul Graff (Repeta), a sixth grader moving towards art as his passion and his future. Aramageddon Time has autobiographical meaning for its writer/director James Gray (We Own The Night, Ad Astra) and it doesn't always present its subject cleanly or move in one direction. The characters are drawn in broad strokes, allowing them to be imperfect and human. The only person who approaches sainthood is Paul's grandfather Aaron (Hopkins), who is his biggest supporter and wants only one thing for him: Be a mensch. In life, if you're a mensch (Yiddish for a good person), everything else falls into place.
Paul is far from a mensch as Armageddon Time begins. He gets on the wrong side of this sixth grade teacher by aligning himself with the held back black student Johnny Davis (Webb). They strike up a friendship which isn't exactly supported by most people Paul knows. There isn't heavy symbolism here, just two unlikely friends in a world prepared to crush that friendship. Johnny is troubled. Paul does his best to connect with him, but once Paul is transferred to a private school, he treats Johnny as persona non grata due to peer pressure. This leads the sick Aaron to lecture Paul about what it means to stand up for friends and yourself.
Armageddon Time has a strong sense of time and place with Fred Trump and daughter Maryanne (Chastain) playing a small role in shaping Paul's path. Yes, Donald's father and sister. If you think the final scene in which Paul walks out on a Fred Trump speech espousing students to become future business leaders and politicians is not meant to be symbolic, then you're watching a different movie than I am. It may not be Donald Trump whom Paul is walking out on, but the guy speaking is also named Trump and that's close enough for Gray.
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