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Murder Down Under

In April of 1996, in Port Arthur, Australia, a man shot 35 people to death and wounded 23 others, in that country's worst mass murder committed by a lone gunman, ever. It led to a major overhaul of the gun laws of Australia.

"Nitram," Justin Kurzel's retelling of the story, is about everything that led up to the massacre, and it leaves most of the violence to your imagination. We hear a few moments of the massacre but we see almost nothing of it - but that in no way diminishes the impact.

Here, the focus is on how Nitram (Caleb Landry Jones) evolves from someone who doesn't quite fit because he's a bit mentally off as a child into a young adult who eventually explodes. Even as his actions become explosive, he is serenely calm.

Nitram lives with his parents (Judy Davis and Anthony LaPaglia) and we get glimpses into him right away when we see him playing with fireworks with little kids in the neighborhood, and approaching girls at the beach and making them uncomfortable. We're never told exactly what's wrong with him, but it's clear that something is.

That point is really hammered home when he's a passenger in a car his father is driving. Nitram repeatedly grabs the steering wheel and pulls at it, almost sending the two of them to their deaths. That's when it becomes apparent that his parents are in over their heads in trying to keep their lives normal.

Nitram's life changes when he cuts the lawn of Helen (Essie Davis), an older woman who's a former actress that lives alone. She's quite well off and sees a quality and worthiness in Nitram that no one else does. She invites him to live with her pretty quickly, although it's unclear if there's a sexual aspect to it.

While Nitram is happier with his new life, his issues haven't magically disappeared. Soon after, Helen dies tragically and that's the final jolt to send Nitram off the edge. He's still calm but visibly unhappier.

What makes "Nitram" particularly effective is the way the story is told, and a standout performance by Caleb Landry Jones. Kurzel doesn't dissect Nitram and explain exactly what's wrong with him. There are no great reflective scenes where we learn what's under the covers of Nitram's personality. We are merely spectatators.

Jones is terrific, never devolving into an over-the-top performance of craziness. He is off, but not seemingly evil in any way. Usually, he's just a big, awkward, overgrown kid who just doesn't seem to get close enough to normal. His performance along with solid direction and writing make this a welcome and different view on the making of a mass murderer.