Close to perfection

Rating: 9/10 (13 January 2020)

I knew I was going to love Jojo Rabbit when I saw the trailer and read about the premise, and I was even more certain when I realised it was directed by Taika Waititi. How long does he have to wait for some Oscars or something? The man is a borderline genius.
I suppose some people will never accept that Nazism and the Holocaust can ever be used to get laughs, but what this film does so well is ridicule their hateful ideology and show it up for the absurdity that it was. That must go in no small measure to the book upon which the film is based, but it still had to be adapted, and in fine style too. The horrors of the latter days of WWII are portrayed unflinchingly, and in those moments of course the humour gives way to pathos. The way in which these two elements of the film are balanced is particularly clever; at no point did I feel like my emotions were being cynically manipulated for kudos.
The acting in Jojo Rabbit is superb. Scarlett Johansson thoroughly deserves her Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Jojo's struggling mother, determined to remain independent and hopeful of an end to the war, despite Nazism and her own son's insistence on being a staunch Hitler Youth. The child actors are also very good (although I'm not sure the Jewish girl Elsa could be said to be played by a child actor, since Thomasin McKenzie is 19), and the supporting cast do good work with their various and peculiar characters - the jolly yet creepy Gestapo man (Stephen Merchant), the cavalier but comradely commander of the local Hitler Youth (Sam Rockwell) and his limp sidekick (Alfie Allen), and of course the significant presence of Waititi himself as Jojo's imaginary friend Adolf Hitler! He did a great job of portraying Hitler as Jojo imagined him to be, and I liked the way the Hitler persona changes as Jojo grows up a bit and becomes acquainted with harsh reality.
The one character which I didn't relate to and couldn't see the point of was Rebel Wilson's Nazi instructor with the Hitler Youth. I'm not a fan of Rebel Wilson, but I don't think it was her spoiling the role, just that the character was superfluous.
In pretty much every other respect I thought Jojo Rabbit was beautifully satirical and poignant in equal measure, and I urge everyone to see it!