Title – Armageddon Time (2022) 

Director – James Gray (The Lost City of Z)  

Cast – Banks Repeta, Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong, Jaylin Webb, Anthony Hopkins

Plot – Inspired by writer/director James Gray’s own childhood, Armageddon Time follows young New York boy Paul Graff (Repeta) as he navigates growing older, the wider world and his dysfunctional family led by mother Esther (Hathaway) and Irving (Strong). 

“The end of an era. The beginning of everything”

Review by Eddie on 03/07/2023

Yet another 2022 released drama from a well-respected director that was inspired by his own family/childhood, joining the likes of Sam Mende’s Empire of Light, Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Bardo and Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, James Gray’s personal and no doubt heartfelt 1980’s set New York based drama has all the hallmarks of a powerful awards baiting feature but despite the foundation for something moving and memorable, Gray’s curiously cold ode to his early years and America’s changing landscape fails to land a single significant blow. 

Starring The Black Phone’s Banks Repeta as a version of Gray in his earlier years, in the form of trouble-making art aspirant Paul Graff, Armageddon Time (a title inspired by the time in which the film takes place in and under then US President Ronald Reagan’s reign) finds itself on dramatic ground that will feel familiar to anyone that’s ever watched a coming of age/family centred drama and while there’s some talent in front of the camera and behind it, the film looks great thanks to the talented Darius Khondji who is the films DOP here, Gray’s film never connects emotionally or finds its narrative mojo that would’ve made it stand out from the crowd. 

Purchased by Focus Features for a significant sum after some hot early reception at early year film festival’s, including a rousing reception at the Cannes Film Festival, in hindsight now it’s not hard to see why Time failed to connect in a significant way with the broader critic community or general film going populace when it came and went upon release without much fanfare and failed to ignite at any of the major end of year award ceremonies as Repeta’s Paul and the story in which he is learning life lessons in just simply isn’t that wholesome or significant. 

We get scenes of Paul fighting with his parents about ordering takeout (parents played by Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong in roles that don’t give them much in the way of memorable moments), a lacklustre friendship between Paul and lower-class African American fellow student Johnny played impressively by Jaylin Webb and wannabe heart-string tugging lessons with Paul and his loving grandfather played by the always nice too see Anthony Hopkins but Gray is unable to use his personal connection with these segments and characters to give Time the magic that might have seen it become one of the few 2022 big screen dramas that broke out of the doldrums. 

A director who has often found his projects not getting the respect they deserve with the likes of The Lost City of Z, Ad Astra and The Immigrant springing to mind, Time is an unfortunate misstep for the filmmaker who can’t translate his passion for this project into making it a drama worth recommending or seeking out.

Final Say – 

Unable to connect us to its middling dramas or uninspired characters, lead by a young boy who isn’t overly likeable or interesting, Armageddon Time fails to stand out in a crowded marketplace. 

2 stolen computers out of 5