After taking us into space with Ad Astra, James Gray takes us to New York in the 1980s with Armageddon Time. But what does this intriguing title mean?
If James Gray had given us a little trip to space in 2019 with Ad Astra, the title of his new film could suggest that the filmmaker was going to take us back to the cosmos.
No, Armageddon Time is not the title of an apocalyptic feature film by Michael Bay and has nothing to do with SF. This is indeed the new poignant drama of the filmmaker to whom we owe in particular Two Lovers or The Night belongs to us.
With this work, James Gray revisits his childhood through the character of Paul, played by Banks Repeta. The director grew up with an older brother and parents, both of whom were children of Jewish immigrants to the United States. His father, the son of a plumber, did not have an easy childhood, but he had managed to climb into the middle class by becoming an engineer.
His mother was a teacher and president of the parents’ association. James Gray wanted to inscribe this personal story in American history and the cultural currents of the 1980s.
As in the film’s story, James Gray had befriended a little black boy, with whom he was caught smoking a joint in the college bathroom. This incident did not have the same impact on the course of the two children.
“As a white man, I was unaware that my race and class gave me the benefit of the doubt, gave me a second or even a third chance. Not realizing, not not meet, is a luxury and an undeserved privilege”confides the native of New York.
“I wanted my film to look at the class and racial fault lines in my country and address them honestly.” Added to this was the privileged relationship he had with his grandfather, which allowed him to develop his moral conscience.
The title is a reference to the reggae song Armagideon Time. Originally written and composed by Willie Williams, it was taken over by the group The Clash in 1979. For the director, it is also a way of evoking the threat of nuclear war.
“It was in the mouth of all the politicians, and behind this title, there is the idea that this “sidelining” of Paul represents for him an Armageddon”, points out James Gray.
“Going to a new school, hearing the word ‘nigger’ thrown around, watching the Trump family talk to them about how they’ve never been privileged, when that’s all the contrary, all that deeply shocks him”explains the filmmaker.
Armageddon Time hits theaters on November 9.