Armageddon Time review: Hathaway, Hopkins, Strong shine in poignant drama

James Gray's last two movies saw him go to outer space (Ad Astra) and explore the Amazon (The Lost City of Z), but in his latest movie, Armageddon Time, he heads back to his roots of 1980 New York, which while being more than 40 years ago feels all to timely a setting. With the help of three strong supporting performances from veterans and a pair of promising outings from young actors, Armageddon Time is a personal reflection but proves to be a poignant and universal movie of discovering what you stand for.

Based on Gray's own experiences growing up in New York City in the early 1980s, Armageddon Time centers on Paul Graff (Banks Repeta), a young kid who enjoys drawing, spending time with his grandfather (Anthony Hopkins) and seeing how far he can push his parents (Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong). That rebellious spirit extends to school, where he is close friends with a young Black boy, Johnny (Jaylin Webb), both experts at cracking jokes and getting into trouble. Too much trouble it turns out, as Paul is eventually taken out of public school, sent to a private school and told not to see Johnny again after getting caught trying weed.

Between his experiences in school and his parents pushing him to strive for a life defined by economic success, young Paul struggles to find direction. Thankfully, his grandfather is there to help, the only person he truly listens to.

First a shout out to Repeta and Webb, who are strong with arguably their biggest roles to date of their young careers. Webb is especially good, balancing the weight of someone already worn down by the system set up against him with moments of joy typical in an 11-year-old. Though it’s the three main supporting performances that steal the show in Armageddon Time.

As Paul's parents, Hathaway gives one of her best performances since her Oscar win a decade ago and Strong continues to prove how versatile he is outside of his trademark role as Kendall Roy in Succession. Hopkins, however, is the true standout, proving once again he is among the greatest actors of his generation with a beautiful portrayal of Paul's grandfather, with two incredible scenes in particular. All three deserve to be in the conversation for awards at the end of the year.

Of course it is Gray's writing and directing that helped bring these great performances to the screen. In addition, while his previous two outings were bigger spectacles, Gray and his team prove incredibly adept at delivering the much more grounded world of his youth with sincerity that engages you into this story of a young man and his family.

Filmmakers taking a look back at their own lives isn’t anything all that new, but we've gotten a number of high profile examples in recent years, with Richard Linklater's Apollo 10 ½ and Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans also playing in 2022. Gray proves that as long as you have the skill and insight that he showcases in Armageddon Time, you can make a personal story something that works for everyone.

The movie's overall message is about what type of person you want to be. Set in the weeks before the 1980 presidential election, Paul's parents are staunch opponents to Ronald Reagan, but they cling to the American Dream that you can move up and have a better (financial) life. But in that pursuit they fail to acknowledge their own racial bias, even as they come from Jewish heritage (in the story they changed their name to Graff to battle discrimination). 

The parents' complicated beliefs works much better than the cameos of Fred Trump (John Diehl) and Maryanne Trump (Jessica Chastain), former President Donald Trump's father and elder sister, as representatives of the elite class. Maryanne's speech about the private school not being a "handout" to these students intentionally rings hollow, while Fred provides an intimidating figure meant to showcase the biases still present among the upper echelon, though which is done much better with Paul's classmates. Overall, the inclusions of the Trumps feels shoehorned in and isn't as strong as the movie's other elements. 

On the other end, it's Hopkins' Grandpa Aaron that is the moral compass for Paul and the movie. He tells his grandson about the history of hate against those like him and does his best to make sure that Paul is a mensch for those in similar positions. How Paul implements these lessons is what results in the climatic moments of the movie.

This kind of subject matter is always a tricky thing to pull off, and some parts of Armageddon Time may work less than others. But Gray's personal tale finds a great balance with its heavy themes and lovely, light moments that endear you to this family and movie as a whole.

Armageddon Time releases in limited movie theaters in the US on October 28 before expanding. It premieres in the UK November 18.