Armageddon Time

Written and directed by James Gray (Little Odessa, Ad Astra) and having premiered earlier this year at Cannes, Armageddon Time is a period drama strongly inspired by Gray’s own coming of age. It focuses on the experience of a Jewish-American child, Paul (Banks Repeta), who finds himself at odds with racist parents and educators over his friendship with Johnny (Jaylin Webb). Anthony Hopkins, meanwhile, plays the role of both Paul’s grandfather and a compassionate conscience.

The music plays a drastic bait-and-switch; during and after a micro-teaser, we’re treated to emphatic funk against a montage of 1980’s United States as Ronald Reagan is seen delivering a State of the Union speech from February 4th of 1986. At 0:15 the music pauses in service of delivering a comedic punchline (“what a schmuck”—in response to Reagan being projected to win the election). We’re introduced to young Johnny’s character as the music continues unabated. At this point, some thirty seconds in, it seems like light fare.

On the second musical pause, however, things take a dramatic turn. By 0:45, an entirely different soundtrack—somber piano music—enters into the fore along with the title card for the release date, underscoring just how grave the revelation is that at least some authority figures in Paul’s life are plainly racist. The movie takes a pervasive issue and renders it anew. The piano melody and repeated note are plaintive, melding seamlessly between parallel major and minor modes in the strings, heightening the drama as Paul contends with the issue. Anthony Hopkins’ signature gravelly voice takes on additional resonance here as he acts to support Paul’s conscience.

A cello plays a semi-tone motif on the minor sixth prominently at 1:32, further adding to the overall abrasive mix of parallel major and minor keys. By the two-minute mark, the actor’s title cards appear on-screen, in synch with an insistent percussion. One more repetition of the semitone motif in the strings, by now emerging as the dominant musical idea, closes the trailer out.

With such a steady build-up in the arrangement, it can be easy to forget just how markedly different the first half minute or so of the trailer was. It’s a bold bet by the editors to give us the boy’s upbeat day-to-day and then emphasize his internally dramatic world, perhaps matching the title—which at first glance feels like a bit of a mismatch (Cold War setting notwithstanding).

Armageddon Time arrives in select US theatres November 11th.

— Curtis Perry