In 2021, Australia marked the 25th anniversary of the worst mass shooting in the country’s history. That shooting happened in April 1996 when a young gunman went on a shooting spree, killing 35 and injuring many others. This event is the inspiration of the critically acclaimed film “Nitram” by famed Australian director Justin Kurzel (“Macbeth,” “True History of the Kelly Gang”) and writer Shaun Grant.
Australia hasn’t experienced a mass shooting incident since the Port Arthur event in 1996 because the conservative prime minister at the time, John Howard, triggered a National Firearms Agreement law “limiting licensing and ownership controls of guns.” According to Reuters, Australia banned all semi-automatic rifles, all semi-automatic, and collected thousands of unlicensed firearms under a gun amnesty. However, that hasn’t stopped Kurzel and Grant from trying to find the truth and understand why these unimaginable events took place so many years ago.
In this exclusive clip that we are pleased to present, we see the titular character, Nitram (Caleb Landry Jones), having what many would call an irrational reaction to what can be assumed to be the consequences of his actions. As Nitram is hurling himself around the vehicle, his father (Anthony LaPaglia) is attempting to get his son to calm down. Landry Jones delivered such a scorching performance he was awarded the Best Actor prize in Cannes last year. So moved by the award, he left the stage in tears before barely uttering a word of thanks.
Many believe that perpetrators of such horrendous acts are just downright evil. How else could they ever commit such a crime? Grant believes this to be a dangerous outlook, stating, “I choose to look closer. Not in any attempt to sympathize with the kill, but rather to try and better understand what leads an individual to carry out such a crime.” That is where this film lives, in the psyche of Nitram—a person experiencing an anxiety-ridden feeling of loneliness succumbing to the slow spiral into withdrawal from life and empathy. “Nitram” also features Judy Davis and Essie Davis.
IFC Films will be releasing “Nitram” in theatres, on Digital, and AMC+ on March 30, 2022. Watch an exclusive clip from the film below.