“Armageddon Time”: James Gray, a childhood in New York

The great tradition of American fiction can be held in two columns. On the one hand, the open sea and the epic: “Moby Dick”. On the other, childhood and early childhood: “Tom Sawyer”. James Gray concluded the last decade with two Melvillian films: The lost city of Z (2016), his exploration of the Amazon, and Ad Astra (2019), his journey through the galaxies. There is still the problem of a rocket in his new project: the one built by a child and his grandfather, in New York in 1980. “Armageddon Time” brings Gray back to the Twaian vein and to his own childhood.

The dawn of a new era

Paul Graff, a rowdy boy, attends a public school in Queens. Gifted with drawing, he dreams of becoming an artist and cares little about lessons. At home, he drives his parents crazy. Paul only listens to Aaron, his grandfather, the only one who believes in him. He has also befriended Johnny, a black boy in his class who would be seen working for NASA but who is slowly sliding down a slippery slope.

In a light beige New York, “Armageddon Time” reconstructs the first months of a curious decade. The Vietnam War has long been over. The club that put an end to the hippie years is experiencing the beginning of its decline. Already, in stereo, the Sugarhill Gang imposes new rhythms, the intoxicating rhythm of its “Rapper’s Delight”. In Washington, Reagan is preparing to take over the White House… The first rays of a new era are thus emerging. This moment in American history embraces the life of our hero. Paul too finds himself at a crossroads in his existence. And “Armageddon Time”, delicately, asks us the great question of the end of childhood, of this moment in which the mystery of adolescence opens up … and, very far away, at the very end, the shadow of the adult who we become.

Intimacy and history

Beyond the floors, we will see Aaron vanish. With him go the memories of a Ukrainian refugee, the war, the Yiddish language, New York’s last ties with the European continent… Was the death of a grandfather ever filmed so well? Anthony Hopkins has the tanned beauty of November, that time in the calendar where you say to yourself, “Hey, the days are getting shorter.” His gaze fades and he reminds us that grandparents carry our childhood with them. When, suddenly, our own parents are orphans, their pain heralds the torments of maturity. A very short, very beautiful shot sees Paul trying, in vain, with a wave of his hand, to console his mother. The order of things begins to change.

Everyone experiences this moment in their own way when the plans we had, the adventures we dreamed of, vanish. Around us, reality emerges in its brutal complexity. Paul discovers racism, betrayals, regrets. He will live with the scars of this year 1980. It is time for “Armageddon”, the final end of a world. During a chilling appearance by Jessica Chastain, James Gray even films what will happen in the next millennium: the Trump years. However, Grandpa’s words will remain tattooed in Paul’s heart: “Never give in to bastards. “

So “Armageddon Time” mixes the intimate with the big story. This scenario, however, holds up on a few events or twists: a visit to the Guggenheim museum, a room in the college bathrooms, this famous rocket kit… Little things, of which we sometimes make great films.