Movie Review: “Jojo Rabbit” is one of 2019’s best films

Movie Review: “Jojo Rabbit” (PG-13)

“Jojo Rabbit” is quite the motion picture experience. Given the satirical nature of this film and given the presence of writer and director Taika Waititi (“Thor: Ragnarok,” “What We Do in the Shadows”) all over this coming of age story, it was pretty much a given that “Jojo Rabbit” would be good for countless hearty laughs. What I wasn’t prepared for was how moved I’d be by this film. Seriously, when I wasn’t laughing my ass off, “Jojo Rabbit” positively wrecked me. This movie doesn’t necessarily say anything about hatred and the human condition that a rational person shouldn’t already be well aware of, but “Jojo Rabbit” gets its point across in ways I wasn’t emotionally prepared for.

“Jojo Rabbit” takes its name from the title character, a young boy with aspirations of becoming a soldier during a time of the Nazi regime. Quirky Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) spends his days training under the command of colorful Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell), hanging with his lovable buddy Yorki (Archie Yates), and engaging in philosophical discussions about life with his imaginary friend, Hitler. Yes, you read that last bit correctly — his imaginary friend, Hitler (played by Waititi). Of course, for obvious reasons, Hitler often tells Jojo the kinds of things he wants to hear, but this impressionable you boy’s ideology slowly begins to change after he bonds with a teenage Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) whom his loving and compassionate mother, Rosie (Scarlett Johansson), has been hiding in the attic.

The idea of a young German kid engaging in lively conversations with an imaginary Hitler during one of the darkest chapters in world history might not sound remotely funny on paper, but I’ll be damned if this movie isn’t laugh-out-loud hilarious! What’s more, “Jojo Rabbit” is sweet, charming, thoughtful, heartbreaking, and shockingly hard hitting. Waititi really swings for the fences here with a movie that plays like a zany but oddly sensible fusion of “Moonrise Kingdom,” “The Diary of Anne Frank,” “Life is Beautiful,” “Hope and Glory,” “Pan’s Labyrinth,” and “The Little Rascals.”

Speaking of “The Little Rascals,” young newcomer Davis is just wonderful here. The majority of this picture is told through the eyes of his precocious, lively, and appropriately youthful Jojo, and Davis is completely up to the challenge. He’s funny, sweet, and eccentric to be sure, but he brings real emotional weight when needed. Likewise, Thomasin McKenzie (“Leave No Trace”) is superb as Elsa, a Jewish teen who slowly but surely begins to open Jojo’s eyes to how the world really is. Together, Davis and McKenzie develop a rapport that is initially combative but eventually warm, playful, and moving in equal measure.

Rounding out a terrific supporting cast are a colorful Rockwell as a surprisingly open-minded Klenzendorf, Waititi as an amusingly playful Hitler (never thought I’d write those words in a sentence), Stephen Merchant as an investigating Nazi who is as goofy as he is terrifying, and a positively adorable Yates as Jojo’s lovable best friend, Yorki.

As wonderful as Davis and Thomasin are and as terrific as the entire supporting cast is, it might just be Scarlett Johansson who emerges as the soul of “Jojo Rabbit.” As a single mom with a heart of gold, Johansson brings a motherly warmth and compassion to the proceedings that grounds the film. Her scenes with Davis in particular are outstanding. This very well could be a career best performance for the star of the great “Lost in Translation.”

Waititi — who at times here displays an energy, humor, and visual style that evokes the likes of Wes Anderson and Edgar Wright — sincerely believes that laughter is the best medicine therefore he brings the funny at a fast and furious clip. Truth be told, though, there are a couple of moments when his broad comical strokes are a tad much but thankfully, there are very few of these moments to speak of and quite frankly, they don’t even come close to draining this film of its overall effectiveness.

Awards shows have never been a sole barometer of a movie’s true worth but if Taika Waititi doesn’t get a Best Screenplay nomination for this at the Oscars, it’ll be a crime. “Jojo Rabbit” really fires on all cylinders — even when, tonally speaking, it turns on a dime. Waititi’s ability to make you laugh one moment only to sucker punch you in the gut seconds later make for a rich, cathartic, and most unique motion picture experience, one in which themes of hatred, violence, and persecution are counterattacked by much needed messages of hope, compassion, and love. Simply put, “Jojo Rabbit” is one of 2019’s very best films.

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