Movie Review: “Jojo Rabbit”

“Jojo Rabbit”

Release Date: November 8, 2019

Runtime: 108 mins

Directed by: Taika Waititi

Starring: Roman Griffin Davis

Thomasin McKinzie

Scarlett Johansson

Taika Waititi

Billing itself as an “anti-hate satire,” “Jojo Rabbit” is set in late WWII-era Germany. The story follows a 10-year-old Hitler Youth member named Jojo. He is uber enthusiastic in his loyalty to the Nazi Party and falls for even the most ridiculous propaganda. He is such a die-hard party member he is even imaginary best friends with Adolf Hitler himself.

It is perfectly clear, though, that Jojo is not a violent psychopath. When he discovers his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their home, Jojo’s whole identity is thrown into question, and he must come to some important realizations about himself and the world he lives in.

Reading this synopsis, you are probably thinking this is the kind of well-intentioned yet overly ambitious movie which will inevitably veer into the realm of extremely poor taste. Against all odds, however, “Jojo Rabbit” pulls off that high-wire act with little more than the occasional wobble.

Probably the riskiest element in the movie is imaginary Hitler. Being completely inside the mind of a 10-year-old boy, this Hitler acts and talks like a 10-year-old boy. However, when Jojo starts to question his beliefs, this imaginary Hitler acts as the embodiment of those beliefs and becomes frightening and intimidating. He is a clever, if provocative, narrative device. I can definitely see some viewers being put off by a character like this, though.

The comedy of the movie works more often than not. At the same time though, it by no means trivializes the atrocities of the Second World War. While there is slapstick and other “low” forms of comedy on display, the core comedy comes from poking at Nazi ideology and hate itself.

The scenes with Jojo talking with this Jewish girl and trying to spot in her the obviously made-up Jewish characteristics he has seen in propaganda—e.g. horns—all the while realizing she is actually just a person have us laughing at the Nazis, not with them.

Waititi continues to prove himself as one of the most interesting writer/directors working today. He is obviously mimicking the style of Wes Anderson—“Moonrise Kingdom,” “Rushmore,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel”—in a few places, especially the first 30 minutes or so, but his voice still shines through.

I think he has always been a great writer and a good director, but he reaches moments of greatness in “Jojo Rabbit.” There is a moment of visual storytelling here, so seemingly effortless in its execution, yet so utterly devastating in its effect. I would expect nothing less from a master filmmaker. This is not to mention the feat of making a story like this still feel tonally consistent. I will be interested to see what he does next.

The performances are all great. The characters with the most screen time are both played by actors under the age of 20. This could easily lessen the impact of the movie, but Roman Griffin Davis and Thomasin McKinzie are thoroughly convincing in their roles. Scarlett Johansson and Sam Rockwell are both great and even Rebel Wilson, who I normally cannot stand, turns in a good performance.

Of all of the awards season contenders this year, “Jojo Rabbit” is probably the most readily accessible and crowd-pleasing.

Drew Eckhart is a junior history and pre-law major from Edmond, OK. He has loved movies for as long as he can remember but thinks his passion really began when he watched “The Dark Knight” for the first time. His favorite type of movie blends comedy and drama seamlessly, and he loves great action films. In Drew’s free time, he enjoys reading and playing video games, as well as watching TV and movies. His favorite TV show is “BoJack Horseman” and his favorite movie is “The Graduate.”

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