Armageddon Time

Armageddon Time
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	James Gray
Written by	James Gray
Produced by	Anthony Katagas Marc Butan Rodrigo Teixeira Alan Terpins James Gray
Starring	Anne Hathaway Jeremy Strong Banks Repeta Jaylin Webb Anthony Hopkins
Cinematography	Darius Khondji
Edited by	Scott Morris
Music by	Christopher Spelman
Production companies	RT Features MadRiver Pictures Keep Your Head Spacemaker Productions
Distributed by	Focus Features (United States) Universal Pictures (International)
Release dates	May 19, 2022 (2022-05-19) (Cannes) October 28, 2022 (2022-10-28) (United States)
Running time	115 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$15 million
Box office	$4.9 million

Armageddon Time is a 2022 American coming-of-age drama film written, directed, and produced by James Gray. The film stars Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong, Banks Repeta, Jaylin Webb, and Anthony Hopkins. Inspired by Gray's childhood experiences, the story follows a young Jewish-American boy who befriends a rebellious African-American classmate and begins to struggle with expectations from his family and growing up in a world of privilege, inequality and prejudice. It was shot in New Jersey with cinematographer Darius Khondji.

Armageddon Time had its world premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival on May 19, 2022, and was released in the United States via a limited theatrical release on October 28, 2022, by Focus Features, before expanding wide on November 4, 2022. The film received generally positive reviews from critics.

The title comes from a song by The Clash, called Armagideon Time, which is heard several times through the film.

Plot

In 1980 Queens, New York City, on his first day in 6th grade, Jewish-American Paul Graff becomes fast friends with a rebellious African-American named Johnny. However, Johnny was held back by a year and gets harsher treatment from their teacher when they both joke around in class. Paul also often disassociates from his schoolwork and draws pictures instead.

Paul lives with his financially stable family of Jewish heritage. He is close with his maternal grandfather Aaron Rabinowitz, who encourages him to pursue his aspirations of becoming an artist. His well-meaning but strict parents, Esther and Irving, are less convinced by Paul's career prospects to be an artist. At night, Aaron tells Paul the story of how Aaron's mother escaped antisemitic persecution in Ukraine, fleeing to London before eventually immigrating to the United States with Aaron and her British husband.

One day, Paul and Johnny are caught smoking cannabis in the restrooms, unaware that it's an illegal drug. Furious, Esther forces Irving into beating Paul as punishment. In the hope that he becomes more disciplined, Paul is sent to the Forest Manor Prep private school by his parents, where his older brother Ted is studying. Meanwhile, Johnny stops going to public school following Paul's expulsion.

Forest Manor is financially supported by famous businessman Fred Trump, who also supports Ronald Reagan in the impending US presidential election. Many of the students are also Reagan supporters. On Paul's first day, Fred's daughter Maryanne, one of the school's famous alumni, delivers a speech to the students about working to earn their success. Paul sees the school's advantages over his previous schooling but still doesn't feel welcome at the school. Paul is also unnerved by racist comments from other students when Johnny meets with him during playtime outdoors. Johnny also begins living in secret at Paul's clubhouse, having nowhere to go other than living with his sick grandmother, where foster system workers searching for Johnny have begun to visit regularly.

While playing at the park on the weekend, Paul tells Aaron of his struggles at school and how he does nothing when he witnesses racism from the other students. Aaron encourages Paul to stand up against prejudice when he sees it; reminding Paul that while antisemitism still covertly persists, he and his family still have the privilege of being white. Shortly after, Aaron dies of bone cancer, with the family mourning his loss.

Tired of living under high expectations from family and school, as well as the unfair treatment of Johnny, Paul convinces him to steal a computer from school and sell it for money so they can run away together. Although they successfully steal the computer, they are arrested by the police for trying to sell it. While being interrogated, Paul confesses that it was all his idea, to protect Johnny. However, knowing that he has no options in life, Johnny takes the blame to let Paul go, much to Paul's dismay. Paul and Johnny bid farewell, as Irving arrives to take him home with no consequences due to an officer being an old friend of Irving's. At home, Irving confesses to Paul that he is sympathetic to his frustration with America's unfair racial inequality, but tells him that they need to survive to have a good life. The two agree to not tell Esther what happened, as she is still mourning the loss of her father.

Days later, the Graff family are disappointed by Reagan's victory in the election, while Paul is focused on schoolwork. During a Thanksgiving dance at school, Fred Trump addresses the students, expressing hope that they'll become the next successful elite. A disillusioned Paul leaves the event during the speech.

Cast

• Banks Repeta as Paul Graff, a Jewish-American coming to terms with adolescence.
• Anne Hathaway as Esther Graff, Paul's mother and Aaron's daughter
• Jeremy Strong as Irving Graff, Paul's father
• Jaylin Webb as Johnny Davis, Paul's African-American friend and classmate
• Anthony Hopkins as Aaron Rabinowitz, Paul's grandfather
• Ryan Sell as Ted Graff, Paul's older brother
• Tovah Feldshuh as Mickey Rabinowitz, Paul's grandmother and Aaron's wife
• John Diehl as Fred Trump, a famous businessman and financier of Forest Manor Prep private school
• Andrew Polk as Mr. Turkeltaub, Paul's public school teacher
• Richard Bekins as Headmaster Fitzroy, who is the head of the Forest Manor
• Jessica Chastain as Maryanne Trump, Fred's daughter
• Dane West as Topper Lowell, Paul's friend at Forest Manor
• Landon James Forlenza as Chad Eastman, Topper's friend
• Jacob MacKinnon as Edgar Romanelli, Paul's public school classmate
• Marcia Jean Kurtz as the student guide at Forest Manor
• Domenick Lombardozzi as Police Sergeant D’Arienzo

Production

Writer, director, and producer James Gray

On May 16, 2019, it was announced that James Gray would be writing and directing Armageddon Time, a film heavily based around his upbringing in Queens, New York. Cate Blanchett was cast in May 2020, with Gray stating that she would shoot all her scenes in three days, including a lengthy monologue. The following month, Robert De Niro, Oscar Isaac, Donald Sutherland, and Anne Hathaway were added to the cast, with plans to film in New York City once the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were minimal.

Filming began in October 2021 in New Jersey. It was initially expected to start in early 2021. In October it was reported that Anthony Hopkins and Jeremy Strong would also star alongside newcomers Banks Repeta, Jaylin Webb, and Ryan Sell, with Hopkins and Strong replacing De Niro and Isaac, respectively. By the time production began, Blanchett and Sutherland were also no longer attached to the project. Jessica Chastain replaced Blanchett for the role. Production wrapped in December 2021 and Andrew Polk and Tovah Feldshuh were confirmed to star. Domenick Lombardozzi was revealed as part of the cast in March 2022.

Release

The film premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival on May 19, 2022, where it received a seven-minute standing ovation from the audience. It began a limited release in the United States on October 28, 2022, before expanding nationwide on November 4. It was distributed in the US by Focus Features and internationally by Universal Pictures.

The film was released for VOD platforms on November 22, 2022.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 75% of 200 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Armageddon Time finds writer-director James Gray excavating his own past and returning with a well-acted drama refreshingly free of nostalgia." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 74 out of 100 based on 53 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

External links

• Armageddon Time at IMDb