Jojo Rabbit stars Roman Griffin Davis as the title character, a Hitler youth whose imaginary best friend is a childish version of Hitler himself, played by Taika Waititi. One day, he discovers that his mother, played by Scarlett Johansson, has hidden a young Jewish girl named Elsa, played by Thomas McKenzie, in their attic. Knowing that his mother would get in trouble if he turned her in, he doesn’t alert anyone of her presence, nor does he let his mother know he’s aware Elsa’s in the house. As the two begin to interact more, Jojo begins to question all of his fanatical beliefs and struggles with adopting a whole new way of thinking.
Right off the bat, this is a movie that looks to make its audience feel uncomfortable. There’s a scene in which Jojo is talking to the imaginary Hitler, who keeps trying to pump him up by asking Jojo to “heil him” multiple times, leading to an awkward, yet funny, thirty seconds or so of Jojo’s “friend” being praised. And scenes such as these appear at multiple points throughout the movie, feeling like moments that, while funny, feel like they’re stretched out for nearly an eternity.
Though Waititi took this sort of approach on purpose. Heavily satirical in nature, this film makes it clear how so many people will blindly choose to follow a horrible figure such as Hitler and treat them like superstars, even without fully understanding what their true beliefs and goals are. As the opening credits roll, the Beatles’ German rendition of “I Want to Hold Your Hand” is heard, and while it’s anachronistic for the film’s time period, using a song from one of the biggest music groups of all-time serves as a perfect parallel to emphasize the blind viewpoint of many back in this time period.
There are many other characters who share similar viewpoints like Jojo’s, and are portrayed in a more comical light, such as Sam Rockwell as the head of a Nazi youth program, along with Alfie Allen and Rebel Wilson as his two assistants. While the film allows the audience to laugh at characters such as them and the imaginary Hitler, it never asks the audience to side with these characters, who truly were horrible people. Waititi doesn’t attempt to hide just how horrible this period of time was, showing characters’ true colors hiding under the skewed fanatical lens that Jojo sees all them through.
This also leads to some truly terrifying sequences that build up suspense quite well. While it can often be funny, there are some extremely tense scenes here that Waititi times perfectly to keep audiences on the edge of their seat. Stephen Merchant shows up briefly as a gestapo officer in one such scene that moves at such an eerily slow pace, but its sense of timing and its chilling soundtrack make it so incredibly pulse-pounding. This film can easily frighten the audience just as much as it can make them laugh.
And while this mix does make for some great satire and social commentary, it does lead to some very jarring tonal shifts that can be off-putting at times. The film can often be very brutal as it shows just how horrible the Nazis were, and some scenes can be quite uncomfortable. However, there are also a fair amount of sequences, mainly ones focused on Jojo at home with his mother, that tend to be very sweet, as it tries to emphasize the relationship this family has. The pacing shifts a bit, and it turns almost into this “slice of life” sort of movie very briefly. While it’s part of the movie’s point to show the world through the lens of this young kid during such a horrible period of time, it could have been handled in a way to feel more seamless at times.
Beyond that though, this film is extremely well-written and has some fantastic character arcs, particularly Elsa’s. While Jojo is the main character, Elsa’s story is also very compelling, and the way in which the film constantly unfolds new elements of the story at a consistent pace was done exceptionally well. Her backstory isn’t kept this big mystery for the majority of the film and she’s an extremely engaging character from her very first scene. The dynamic between her and Jojo was excellent to watch, especially as Jojo slowly comes around to realize she’s not the sort of person he was led to believe she was.
Besides being well-written, what makes watching these characters in action so wonderful to watch are the performances. Roman Griffin Davis is great as Jojo, portraying him as someone who’s very strong-willed from the get-go, making it easy for audiences to sympathize with him whenever he’s put down. Scarlett Johansson is also top-notch as Jojo’s mother, who’s seen in a limited fashion as she’s constantly out and about for most of the film. but she’s given a lot to do when on screen, especially in one particular sequence of Jojo attempting to confront her over dinner.
Thomasin McKenzie is by far the standout performance though, knocking it out of the park in each and every scene she’s in. Her introductory sequence might just be one of the film’s best sequences, if not the absolute best sequence. She purposely plays right into Jojo’s fears, knowing that despite being a Nazi fanatic, she could still maintain some sort of control over him. For a brief moment, it feels like something right out of a horror movie, and her strong performance is what carries so many sequences.
A lot of the more comical characters are also fun to watch, particularly Waitii as the imaginary Hitler, as well as Rockwell. Most of them do get some good laughs in, particularly Rockwell who essentially plays a version of himself with a German accent. The only issue with some of these characters from time to time is the fact that some of the jokes don’t particularly land well. There are scenes that are clearly trying too hard to get a laugh, mostly when it came to Rebel Wilson’s character, who would sometimes just go on tangents and ramble on in very brief monologues. This also played into the issue of the film going through drastic tonal shifts, as there were times where something emotionally compelling would happen, and the film would follow it up with trying too hard to get a laugh, and it just didn’t always work.
Jojo Rabbit is another wonderful entry in Taika Waititi’s filmography that mixes laughter with some brutal social commentary and satire. Its tonal shifts can be a bit jarring at times, but its mix of laughs and some chilling doses of reality do make for an engaging experience. And not only is it a film with a message, but it’s also filled with some excellently-written characters that are also supported by standout performances, especially from Roman Griffin Davis and Thomasin McKenzie. Its handling of the subject matter may not make it a movie for everyone, but it is a movie with something to say, and it says it quite well.
Recommendation: Watch It
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