Jojo Rabbit: Review

It's just that time honoured classic tale of a boy in the Hitler Youth and his imaginary friend Adolf... Yeah this is a weird one!

1. Narrative

Jojo Rabbit is a film about a young boy named Jojo Betzler who lives with his mother in Nazi Germany and is a devoted member of the Hitler Youth. Jojo is a Hitler fanatic with swastika posters decorating his room and a fixation on Jews and what he would do if he ever found one. Like many little boys his age Jojo also has an imaginary friend... it just so happens that his imaginary friend is the Fuhrer himself or at least a version of him that Jojo has built up in his mind to offer advice.

This is a comedy I swear!

Things change for Jojo when he realises that his mother is hiding a Jew in their basement, a young woman named Elsa. Not wanting to expose his mother Jojo decides to pretend he doesn't know about Elsa while the two secretly become close friends, much to the anger of imaginary Hitler.

When I try and explain this film to others it becomes very difficult to explain just how funny it is as well as how dark it is. Jojo has found the perfect balance between satire and genuine emotion in a film that at times feels like a strange mix between Inglorious Bastards and Monty Python's Flying Circus.

For some people the juxtaposition from comedy to gut wrenching might be a little difficult to watch. I know there is always an uneasiness about using comedy in a historical context especially one where the truth was so horrific but I think what's important to remember here is the story actually being told. This isn't about troops on the front line, this is about a disillusioned little boy coming to terms with the lies he's been fed his whole life and an image of Hitler as a great hero that was presented to people at the time.

2. Influences and Satire

Jojo is a satirical film. It's important to make that distinction between satire and comedy because satire allows it to do things that a normal comedy would not. Nazi Germany had a lot of strange customs and rules that are inherently useless and funny. The main one used as a gag in the film is having to "hail Hitler" every time you enter a room. One of the funniest sequences in the film is this very pythonesque sequence where the Gestapo come to raid Jojo's house in search of Elsa. Their job is frequently delayed every time a character enters and they all have to "hail Hitler" each other before the search can continue. What makes this sequence brilliant is that there is very real tension underneath it as we know there is a chance that Elsa could be exposed and killed, along with Jojo's mother if she's found out.

Taika Waititi is the director of the film but also plays Jojo's imaginary Hitler. I can only imagine what the poor crew must have felt like getting actual orders from Hitler...

That being said I can't picture any other actor doing what Taika does with this character. His delivery is brilliant and hilarious and because he's imaginary the fact that he doesn't look anything like Hitler didn't bother me at all and probably let them get away with some of the more "insensitive" jokes. Taika's Hitler is what allows this film to work as well as it does and the opening scene is the perfect example of this.

4. Performance

Taika aside, there are some other amazing performances in this film. Thomasin McKenzie as Elsa delivers a brilliant toughness to the role while also an intimate vulnerability that runs through her character. Roman Griffin Davis is wonderful in the title role and I believe has a very promising career ahead of him. His comedic timing was great and he didn't fall into the child actor hole of being too adult or too childlike. As a character I felt like Jojo was completely believable.

Sam Rockwell also gives a brilliant performance in this. Less obvious than some of the others, this character kind of creeps up on you but becomes an integral part of the film. And of course I have to mention Stephen Merchant as the freakishly tall Gestapo agent.

However for me the standout performance was from Scarlett Johansson who plays Jojo's mother, Rosie. Rosie is the heart of the film and represents a moral compass that guides Jojo past his illusions. She gets some of the best lines and funniest moments of the film but she never pulls the attention away from the story itself. I've never particularly rated Johansson as an actress but recently her performances in Marriage Story and Jojo Rabbit have tuned me in to just how much range she has and how wasted she has been in other franchises. When other actors are in a scene with her it's like the whole level of acting is raised. Her light and comedic character doesn't overpower the fear and conflict happening within her. It's beautifully played.

5. Controversy

Of course a film like this is going to drum up controversy. While I can understand that this kind of humour isn't for everybody I think what's important to make out is that Taika Waititi is not making light of Nazis. He's not pointing at the third reich and going "haha they killed thousands of people". This is a film about disillusionment which in a way I think is very timely. It's about being able to see through political propaganda to see what's really going on which in a sense makes the fact it's set in Nazi Germany completely irrelevant from a thematic point of view. The comedy comes from the naivety of our main character. A boy who views Jews as vicious monsters with horns and daydreams about being Hitler's personal aide. It's satire and it's exaggerated. and in my personal opinion I think it works very well.

Watiti is a comedian by trade, it is not in him to create a film without comedy and his particular brand of dark humour is a little hard to grasp for some. Jojo is very much in the same brand as What We Do In the Shadows and Hunt for the Wilderpeople although I personally believe this to be funnier than both films and better executed.

6. Conclusion

To conclude, Jojo Rabbit tows a difficult line of not being everyone's "cup of tea" and I understand that. It just so happens that dark comedies like this happen to be my cup of tea and I found this film extremely enjoyable, moving and a really interesting take on a side to the war we haven't got many films about. I think it's incredibly clever, funny and original with characters and scenes that will stick in my mind for a long time. It's definitely one for a re-watch.

8/10