Film Review - Jojo Rabbit (12)

Ten-year-old German boy Johannes ‘Jojo’ Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis) has grown up in Nazi Germany idolising Adolf Hitler. But when he discovers his mother (Scarlett Johansson) is harbouring Jewish girl Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) in their home, his outlook begins to change — to the dismay of his Führer-shaped imaginary friend (Taika Waititi).

(Summary courtesy of Empireonline.com)

We've just celebrated 75-years since VE Day as a write this, and such was the atrocity of Hitler and his Nazi regime, it still feels uncomfortable to watch him as a comedy character.

However, writer/director Taika Waititi's ("Hunt for the Wilder People", "Thor: Ragnorak") Oscar winning script strikes an excellent balance between satire and drama with wonderful performances from all involved.

Roman Griffin Davis is brilliant as the young title character and Waiti uses him well to anchor all parts of the story together as we experience the end of the war in Germany and all of the supporting characters from Jojo's point of view. And it's this child's eye view that allows the film to get away with such a wild premise and variety of characters; the intimate relationship with his mother (Scarlett Johansson), the outlandish German Officer (played wonderfully by Sam Rockwell), the scary Gestapo agent (Stephen Merchant) and the funny, almost slapstick imaginary Hitler (Waititi).

Whilst Waititi mostly plays Hitler for laughs as a way to highlight just how absurd and evil his actions were, there are also some excellent moments where he displays real anger and menace towards the young Jojo that reminds you that this was still a very serious and horrible moment in history that should not be forgotten or allowed to repeat.

The film also features a number of other tense and emotional moments that help elevate "Jojo Rabbit" from a silly satire to a powerful piece that's very much worth your time.

The one negative is that some may not like Waititi's use of camera as it is often quite simple instead of the usual dramatic angles, quick edits or flashy cinematography you might expect. For me though, this keeps an independent film sensibility that ultimately proves the narrative is strong enough to engage without these elements and allows the story room to breath.

It's understandable to find the subject matter and style unsettling at first, but I would genuinely advise that you give this a go and stick with it, even if it's just for Sam Rockwell!

Rating - 4/5