“Armageddon Time” unfolds slowly — almost too slowly for the message it’s delivering.
The year is 1980 and sixth-grader Paul Graff (Michael Banks Repeta) is interested in drawing and fitting in. When his teacher tells him “gym is privilege,” we realize privilege is what propels the story.
Paul’s family is Jewish and hardly as rich as he might believe. His brother goes to a private school, largely through the beneficence of their grandfather (Anthony Hopkins). Dad (Jeremy Strong) is a boiler repairman. Mom (Anne Hathaway) is a teacher and P.T.A. officer. Paul wrongly thinks mom has clout at his school. She doesn’t, but that doesn’t keep him from bonding with Johnny Davis (Jaylin Webb), a fellow malcontent who isn’t cut any breaks. He’s Black and a target for their teacher.
As the two try to maneuver the landmines of sixth grade, they discover a shared love of music and art. The two break away from a class trip to the Guggenheim Museum and begin what others might see as their descent into delinquency.
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Both, though, are just trying to find a place in the world. Director James Gray peppers the journey with political commentary – the start of the Reagan hold on politics, the power of privilege, even at a sixth-grade level.
At one point, a Trump (played by Jessica Chastain) delivers a message about interacting with the “right” people. It’s a telling moment and a great way to understand why so much has gone wrong in recent years.
Hopkins, however, makes sure that’s tempered when he takes Paul aside and delivers his own take on life.
Dad, meanwhile, believes otherwise. He pushes the “who you know” agenda and explodes when he thinks his son’s slim advantage could be vanishing.
Both Strong and Hathaway are excellent as parents who want the best for their children, even though they know they may not be able to provide it. They’re not strong enough, either, to let the boys travel their own paths, so they push and pull until Paul isn’t sure what’s right.
“Armageddon Time” may be a title that’s too explosive for the story it’s attached to. This is a coming-of-age drama that’s just as singular as Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast” or Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans.” It’s not as impressionable as those films, but it certainly shows how circumstances can shape a person’s world view.
Repeta and Webb are great pals, bonded by adversity. The two make you care about their futures and who succeeds at breaking free.
They harbor a dream of moving to Florida where one can become an astronaut, the other can be an artist. Naïve as the plan is, it suggests they’re smart enough to know New York isn’t the place where dreams come true.
Gray shoots his scenes in warm tones that almost lull us into believing all will be OK. Instead, the darkness could be a harbinger of what’s to come.
“Armageddon Time” isn’t a movie you’d plan to see. But it is one that makes you understand why so much can go wrong.
