AT Time of Armageddon, James Gray tries to create a snapshot of a North America that now seems distant and nostalgic. The New York City of the Eighties emerges from the sober cold in the midst of distant reflections. The director and screenwriter also talks about classism and racism in a new way. All through the eyes of a small child who does not fully understand such concepts. In addition, they will have to deal with the realization that the world is an unknown place most of the time.
The director achieves his ambition in some of the most difficult scenes in Time of Armageddon. In particular, in which the country that they are trying to portray is a strange combination of its shortcomings and virtues. But fails to reveal a valid context for a society in constant transformation which is analyzed from the point of view of the child. In fact, in several scenes, the film looks at the world as a distant place protected by memory. The one that little Paul Graff (Michael Banks Repita) tries to understand but fails.
Argument Time of Armageddon, which delves into the rise and loss of the innocence of a country destined for cynicism, has something of an intimate history. At the same time, a journey through a very personal look at the demon and the already traditional American way of life. The plot paints great social and cultural dreams as a landscape through which eleven-year-old Paul must grow. Also ask yourself questions and try to learn. All from an almost painful distance and, most of the time, from the cold.
Time of Armageddon It’s a dim view of time and growth
“Your life should be the way it’s supposed to be,” insists Paul’s mother, the sober and elegant Anne Hathaway. On the other hand, his father (Jeremy Strong) is a menacing, often violent presence. The boy ends up taking refuge with his grandfather (Anthony Hopkins), the only adult who understands him. “Life is what it is, you can’t ask for anything else,” the old man reminds him, as they both look at the unmistakable skyline from New York.
But reality – future, strange and still half built – will bump into Paul when he finishes divide school with symbols of north american power. At the famous Kew Forrest Institution, you suddenly become part of the country’s history. After all, this is the place where the children of Fred Trump (direct and intentional mention) and many other personalities were raised. Paul, who until now had intended to become only an artist, became mired in ambition. One day, Time of Armageddon gives him a privileged view of the future, which he does not yet know, but which he will witness.
It is certainly a culture where greed is everything. Something that is unknown to the character and what, in essence, will mean before and after in his life. Until now, Paul had no clear idea of how the chiaroscuro of American society might manifest itself. Far less than its most clumsy and odd edges. But the school that educates leaders will show you that there is a secret America. One of the great privileges, discrimination and full of inconveniences of an indifferent society.
Fall of the American dream
Of course, the retrospective game is necessarily difficult. Much more so when Gray uses Trump (what the former president symbolizes in this story) as a starting point for deeper reflection. But the argument Time of Armageddon he takes advantage of knowing the future with such finesse that it undermines the solidity of the film.
The plot insists on using Paul as a privileged witness to the changing times of the transformations. But there is something artificial in his discoveries about classism and racism. What prevents the narrative from telling how the character, little by little, loses his innocence due to the severity of reality. After all, the very presence of the son of the then businessman is in itself an emblem.
Gray uses it with little skill, especially when he tries to connect Paul’s experience with America suffering in the future. Time of Armageddon it crosses over several commonplaces in dramas about growing up and the ills of self-discovery. But Gray lacks the subtlety and elegance to make her story believable. At least when the little character has to try to streamline information that supports the conscience of the country and its prejudices.
A missed opportunity in Time of Armageddon
Time of Armageddon he muses on the likelihood of America’s sorrows, drawing parallels with Paul’s self-awareness. The boy grows up to discover that the New York City he lives in is actually a small stage for a much larger circumstance.
At the height of the Reagan era, with the 1980s shining in all its innocent excess, the future looks bright. But this is not the case, and, in fact, much of history portends a slide into petty pessimistic catastrophes that he cannot clearly explain.
This is a unique resource for building a second discourse in the film, not only about what awaits the country, but also as a collective consciousness. Also, how Paul’s view – hitherto limited to the everyday perception of good and evil – will become wider.
Time of Armageddon manages in his best scenes to distinguish country from innocence. At its worst, it becomes a preachy take on American culture that is almost tiresome. Perhaps its lowest and immaterial point.
