A result of the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, Martin ‘Nitram’ Bryant is listed as Australia’s worst mass murderer. A former convict colony, Port Arthur is a popular tourist destination on the remote south east Tasmanian coast. Bryant ran amok on April 28, 1996, killing 35 people and injuring a further 23.
Written by Shaun Grant (Snowtown, Berlin Syndrome), Nitram looks to the bizarre and disturbed world of Bryant (a wholly convincing Caleb Landry Jones – The Forgiven, Get Out) in the lead up to the tragedy. A loner, mentally unstable with only his parents for support (Judy Davis – The Dressmaker, Ghandi – a stand out), it’s the suicide of his dad, Anthony LaPaglia (Balibo, Lantana) that sends him over the edge.
Choosing to end the film as Bryant enters the Broad Arrow Café at the historic site, director Justin Kurzel (Snowtown, MacBeth) makes a number of assumptions within known facts to provide a fuller characterisation of the killer. Particularly odd is the friendship he develops with the equally lonely heiress, Helen Harvey (Essie Davis – The Babadook, Australia) – with the suggestion that Bryant is responsible for her early death.
As with his earlier Snowtown, Justin Kurzel is not afraid of confronting subject matter, and Nitram sees the tension and known-reveal build in a psychological vice-like grip.
Winner of 8 AACTA awards in 2021 – including film, director, actor, actress, supporting actor, supporting actress and screenplay.
Rating: 79%
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