IFC Films released today a trailer for Nitram, a shocking drama starring Caleb Landry Jones about the events that led to one of Australia’s worst tragedies in 1996. Based on a real story, the film goes deep into the mind of a mass shooting perpetrator in order to paint a disturbing picture. The movie is set to premiere in late March.
The trailer reveals that Nitram isn’t afraid to delve into dark themes, and showcases the haunting performance of Landry Jones, who plays a man with an unstable personality and violent behavior. The tragedy – which is not depicted in the film – forever changed the debate on gun control legislation in the Land Down Under.
Nitram had its first premiere last year at Cannes, a territory in which its director, Justin Kurtzel, has become known for delivering hard-to-watch films like his debut Snowtown. Kurtzel is also known for creating highly atmospheric work, as seen in 2015’s Macbeth. In mainstream, he helmed the video game adaptation Assassin’s Creed.
In an interview to Deadline on Nitram’s screening at Cannes, Kurtzel revealed that not showing the tragedy was a decision made since day one, and that he was more interested in covering other topics:
"We knew we didn’t want to portray the mass shooting or violence. There was a restraint that was really needed. What was so telling and interesting about the screenplay was how you could feel, in a very visceral way, the journey of this character as he continues to make terrible choices, becomes more and more isolated and then exploits the gun culture in Australia at the time. When you see them written on a page and how it plays out and how easy it is for a character, who we know is at that point at their most dangerous and most fragile, be able to purchase a semi-automatic weapon so easily and quickly, like it’s a fishing rod, that spoke to me so much more than opinion pieces or debates about gun reform. We had lived through this character’s steps and at that point where he purchases these horrific weapons, we emotionally understand and feel how awful and wrong this is. We’ve been deeply, deeply aware of the sensitivity of it, and we’ve tried to tread very gently."
Kurtzel’s approach paid off: in the 2021 Australian Academy Awards, Nitram swept eight prizes out of the 15 categories in which it was nominated. The wins included Best Film, Best Direction and Best Lead Actor for Landry Jones.
Nitram is written by Shaun Grant, who worked with Kurtzel in Snowtown and True History of Ned Kelly. Aside from Landry Jones, the cast also features Judy Davis (Netflix’s Ratched), Anthony LaPaglia (Annabelle: Creation), and Essie Davis (The Babadook).
Nitram premieres in theaters, AMC+, and becomes available for rental on digital platforms on March 30.
You can watch the trailer below:
Check out the official synopsis here:
Nitram (Caleb Landry Jones) lives with his mother (Judy Davis) and father (Anthony LaPaglia) in suburban Australia in the Mid 1990s. He lives a life of isolation and frustration at never being able to fit in. That is until he unexpectedly finds a close friend in a reclusive heiress, Helen (Essie Davis). However, when that relationship meets a tragic end, and Nitram’s loneliness and anger grow, he begins a slow descent that leads to disaster.