Jojo Rabbit is a dark delight

I appreciate that it is the job of the marketing department to get people in to see a movie but sometimes they are a little, shall we say, overzealous. There is anecdotal evidence of audience members walking out of the otherwise excellent Uncut Gems because it’s not the type of Adam Sandler movie they’re used to. For what it’s worth I think that alone is a compelling reason to see Uncut Gems.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Jojo Rabbit has similar misfortune. The trailer sells the movie as an outrageously wacky wartime romp in which a naïve member of the Hitler youth has Adolf Hitler as his imaginary friend. That would actually work for me as a movie - I loved The Producers (1967) - but there is more to Jojo Rabbit than this.

Taika Waititi’s film deals with much bigger things. It’s about the rise of populism, it’s about the trials of adolescence, it’s about tragedy and loss – common themes in his films – it’s about survival, and most of all it’s about the things we do for love.

And as well as all of this there is the wacky stuff with Waititi as Hitler. In passing there can be no more powerful argument for diversity than having a Polynesian Jew playing the Fuhrer. Also, the film is not really about Hitler per se, it is more about the slavish adoption of a dubious philosophy.

Set in Austria in the last days of the Second World War, when the Germans were relying on children and pensioners to defend the Fatherland, our hero Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) is anxious to do his bit. Jojo is not a natural warrior but he is spurred on by his imaginary Fuhrer friend (Taika Waititi).

A training accident further limits Jojo and his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) insists that, in reparation, local militia commander Klenzendorff (Sam Rockwell) find Jojo something to do at HQ. Rosie disappears from time to time leaving Jojo to fend for himself but one day, mooching around the house, he discovers Rosie’s secret; she is harbouring a Jew.

Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) has been hiding in the attic for months. Jojo’s friend Hitler has encouraged him to believe that Jews are nature’s monsters, but Elsa looks alright. As they talk more and more Jojo trusts his imaginary friend less and less. But with the Gestapo at the door what is Jojo to do?

Waititi’s film works on a number of levels. At its most superficial it is a very entertaining comedy drama about a difficult subject. But there is much more going on here and you don’t have to dig very deep to find yourself being asked some awkward questions. Aren’t we all a little like Jojo these days having our prejudices confirmed by our imaginary friends on the internet without asking too many questions? What would we do if we were really forced to come face to face with those prejudices?

Waititi does not avoid any of the big issues. Anyone who knows his work knows that death is an ever present. As in his other films, such as The Hunt for the Wildereople (2016), it arrives here suddenly, unexpectedly and its impact is utterly devastating. It is a game changer and it is a scene that defines the movie.

The performances throughout the film are remarkable. Davis and McKenzie are superb as Jojo and Elsa, and Johansson gives a career best performance as Rosie. I know her role in Marriage Story (2019) is the one everyone is talking about but for me this is the better turn.  Waititi hits the right shade of Machiavellian camp as Hitler, and there is excellent support from Rockwell, Rebel Wilson, Stephen Merchant and a movie-stealing debut from Archie Yates as Jojo’s only – real life – friend.

The sincerity of the performances, the subtlety of Waititi’s direction, and the slyness of the screenplay all combine for an ending which is not only bittersweet but gloriously triumphant. Definitely a film not to miss.