Put this up there with Denis Villeneuve's Polytechnique. Good historical artifact that can serve it's purpose that I desperately do not ever wish to see again

Not really sure about this one. It's a well-crafted, bleak, and generally unpleasant film with subject matter that's unsettling to think about. It does a great job at building a tense and dramatic atmosphere in the most minimalistic way with decent performances at its center. I just don't see why this needed to be made. Why bringing up a national tragedy when the result is a film that doesn’t really say much. Why not just leave it alone. Most of the film is just a retelling of the day-to-day life of Nitram, which I didn't find that interesting, without shedding light on anything. The criticism of Australian gun control is very brief and comes out of nowhere.

Like savory jelly beans in a charity jar, _Nitram_ will keep you guessing. I went in blind, knowing only the film's poster and name, and not really understanding either, truth be told. What unfolded before me was a majestic tapestry of understatement, where the subtleties served to give the film an impact that left marks. Caleb Landry Jones is an actor I can either take or leave, depending on the role, but his performance is definitely a major reason that this film is as powerful as it is, and he definitely deserved the Cannes best actor award in 2021.

⭐⭐⭐⭐½ ________________________________ [9.0] Total [8.5] Plot [9.0] Characters [9.0] Directing [9.5] Acting

The drama part with Martin "Nitram", his family and Helen was peak drama material but as soon as it goes into gun territory it trades it's original story for a generic, overdone and frankly obvious one. It's first half goes for more of a humanizing character study focusing on bad parenting, a bad social circle and mental health. The second half on guns and black market. The thing is, the mental health part was way more emphasized than the fact that guns are easily accessible in my opinion, which is bold of them to do and very misleading. It just felt like two movies into one, one's a family drama and the other's a crime thriller. Caleb Landry Jones was phenomenal, beautiful cinematography and it was depressingly bleak. Family drama part: 8/10 Gun control part: 5/10