Movie #5 2020: Jojo Rabbit (2019)

Whewwwwww, what a wild ride.

When I told friends that I was going to see Jojo Rabbit in the cinema, relatively few of them had actually heard of it.

“What’s it about?” they’d ask.

In my naivety, I described it as “this film where a kid in Nazi Germany has an imaginary friend who happens to be Hitler”.

Sure, that is true. But that’s not even close to what this movie is about.

First off, I’d like to strongly endorse Scarlett Johansson for the Outstanding Supporting Actress Oscar win. (I say, as I’m sat in sweatpants and a Buffy the Vampire Slayer sweatshirt yet acting like I’m part of the Academy). Johansson’s performance and her character’s storyline is at the very heart of what makes this movie special. And I’m not sorry. The scenes with her shoes (I won’t spoil anyone by going into detail) are an absolutely genius piece of storytelling and I can’t praise it enough. Alas, she won’t win the Oscar and it’ll probably go to the equally talented Laura Dern for yet another brilliant Johansson movie, Marriage Story. But I’m still sticking by my original endorsement.

Jojo Rabbit also features introductory performances from young actors Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo) and Archie Yates (Yorki), both of whom are very impressive. Sure, Yates often comes off sounding less Germanic and more like a drama kid from Croydon, but I’ll let him off because his comedic timing is unmatched for an actor of his age.

Unfortunately, I’ve seen some negative reviews about this exquisite piece of cinema, but I strongly believe that they were written by people who expected this to wholly be a comedy. Of course there were some hilarious moments, and somehow Rebel Wilson manages to be far less annoying (and way funnier!) than usual. However for me, the brilliance of this film is that it is not all one thing, nor is it all another. In it’s 108 minute run time, Jojo Rabbit manages to be funny, touching, moving, dramatic, educational, and exciting. The way it bends genre is so brilliant and so unique.

Bravo, Taika Waititi.

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