Movie Review: Jojo Rabbit

Jojo Rabbit *** ½ / *****

Directed by: Taika Waititi   

Written by: Taika Waititi based on the novel by Christine Leunens.

Starring: Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo), Thomasin McKenzie (Elsa), Scarlett Johansson (Rosie), Taika Waititi (Adolf), Sam Rockwell (Captain Klenzendorf), Rebel Wilson (Fraulein Rahm), Alfie Allen (Finkel), Stephen Merchant (Deertz), Archie Yates (Yorki).

 

Jojo Rabbit is a feel good comedy about a 10-year member of the Hitler Youth, who is such a fan of the furor that his imaginary friend is a friendly, goofy version of Hitler himself. While I certainly understand the criticism that perhaps now is not the best time to make a comedy about Nazis, or that Taika Waititi’s film is uneven in terms of its tonal shifts, and fairly lightweight in its view of Nazis and everything horrible they did, I also find I cannot deny the pleasures of the film. It is funny, the performances are quite good, and the filmmaking has Waititi’s trademark understated comic style, and the mixing of more modern outlooks on a time and place where they didn’t exist. And the film did bring a genuine tear to my eye as it ended. Oh, and another thing, I don’t think there is a possible reading of this film as being pro-Nazi – or even that it isn’t hard on the Nazis – who are portrayed as idiots throughout. I’m not sure that Waititi needs to explain just how horrible Nazis are does he – we know that don’t we, and even those who don’t (aka Nazis) no portrayal of them will ever convince them otherwise anyway.

 

Roman Griffin Davis has the title role of Jojo – a 10-year-old living with his mother, Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) in Berlin in the waning days of WWII. His father disappeared while fighting on the front – no one quite sure where, but certainly the consensus is that he was a coward and a traitor. Jojo is neither of those things – at least not in his mind – he is the most committed young Nazi you can find, fulling buying the evils of the Jews (even if his 10-year-old brain cannot fully comprehend what that means) and wanting nothing more than to work as Hitler’s personal guard. His best friend is the ever sweet Yorki (Archie Yates – who is an absolute delight in this film) – who always greets Jojo with a hug. His imaginary best friend is Adolf (Waititi himself) – a grinning, mugging version of Hitler that only a 10-year-old could conjure up. Jojo’s worldview is shaken when he discovers that his mother is hiding a Jewish teenager – Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) in their walls. He doesn’t want his mother to get in trouble – so he keeps the secret. And he and Elsa begin to talk – and slowly his mind changes.

 

You could argue that Waititi’s worldview in Jojo Rabbit is almost hopelessly naïve – he sees the good in almost everyone in the film, and there are far more sympathetic characters than out and out bad guys. Even Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell) – the head of the Hitler youth group, in charge of training these young men, is more of a drunken, but benevolent, guy than an evil one. His relationship with his underling Finkel (Alfie Allen) is clearly not something the Nazis would approve of – and he’s hardly a hardliner. Few are in Jojo Rabbit – except perhaps Fraulein Rahm (Rebel Wilson), and the late arriving Deertz (Stephen Merchant) – and while both are scary, they’re also clearly idiots. In the world of Jojo Rabbit, most people are still, at heart, good.

 

That is a naïve outlook for Waititi to take – something that has been disproven even in current years, and especially in Nazi Germany. And yet, it’s a comforting one to embrace – if only for the two-hour runtime of Jojo Rabbit. And it comes in a film which is genuinely funny and moving. Jojo’s embrace of Nazism isn’t a real thought through ideology – but the childlike embrace of something everyone has told him is a good thing. Even Rosie doesn’t believe it – but knows the best way to protect him is to let him outwardly be that kid, while subtly trying to undermine the worldview throughout. Johansson is quite good here – it’s a comedic performance, with some physical moments of comedy throughout, but also a genuinely moving one. Thomasin McKenzie, so good in last year’s Leave No Trace, is also excellent as Elsa – who likes to play with Jojo’s embrace of Nazism to show how silly it is. Sam Rockwell is genuinely funny here – although I kind of think it’s the type of role that Rockwell has gotten typecast in the last few years, and should probably do something different.

 

And Waititi himself is quite good as Adolf – he’s not really playing Hitler, but playing the Hitler a 10-year-old could relate to – he’s silly, goofy, scared, but trying to act tough – and also a complete buffoon. This is Waititi’s intent throughout the film at every level. I do think the film is too naïve for its own good – but it sells a fantasy that you want to buy into convincingly, and takes real chances throughout. They don’t all turn out – but you have to admire the effort anyway.