Movie Review: Jojo Rabbit (2019)

Jojo Rabbit (2019) written and directed by Taika Waititi

Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) is a ten-year old boy in Nazi Germany. He wants to fit in and be cool, so he's part of the Hitler Youth and even has Hitler (Taika Waititi) as an imaginary friend. He's camping outdoors with the Hitler Youth when he gets the "Rabbit" moniker. To prove their cruelty and ruthlessness, the camp leaders want the boys to break the neck of a rabbit. Jojo is the first one selected to do it, but he just can't bring himself to kill an innocent bunny. The boys then mock him for his cowardice. Imaginary Hitler comes to comfort the boy. Later, trying to show how brave he is, he throws a live hand grenade which bounce off a tree and blows up right next to him. He's out of contention as a future soldier with his scarred face and barely functioning leg. He still volunteers at the Hitler Youth headquarters in town. His mom (Scarlett Johannson) tries to cheer him up whenever she can. She puts up with his Nazi nonsense and tries in very gentle and subtle ways to show him what is really going on. Those methods are too gentle and subtle for a ten-year old. Jojo's dad is off in Italy, presumably fighting for the Reich though a lot of mixed rumors and opinions are given--Did he die? Is he a deserter? Is he still fighting? Most of those opinion come from his fellow ten-year olds, so they are hardly reliable.

Things change in a big way when Jojo discovers a girl hiding in his deceased sister's room. The girl is a Jew named Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie). Jojo's first instinct is to report her but she points out that his mom will be in big trouble for hiding a Jew. Also she steals Jojo's Hitler Youth knife and threatens to cut his head off. So he has a very uneasy relationship with her as he learns more about her and he hides his new knowledge from his mother, who turns out to be more active than just hiding one Jew in her spare room.

The movie starts as a broad satire of Nazi culture and seems like it's just going to be a fun time mocking the stupidity of the Third Reich. Some subtle signs indicate that more is going on and about half-way through the story takes a very rough turn into the reality. It's late in the war and the Nazis are in denial about losing. Jojo's eyes start to open about what's going on and what's really important. By the end, there's more tension than comedy but the film earns the switch with its sincerity. 

A lot of the characters also follow the comic-to-serious arc of the film. Jojo's mom is whimsical and endearing but has a lot more going on underneath. Johannson gives a great performance. Sam Rockwell is also very good as the one-eyed leader of the town's Hitler Youth. His character starts as seeming comic relief--a jaded officer who still thinks he can fight but isn't allowed to. By the end of the film, he's shown more depth and understanding. Jojo himself starts off as a somewhat idiotic kid who is forced to mature through circumstances. The weakest performance is Waititi's imaginary Hitler, who is understandably cartoonish but his accent wavers between German and New Zealand in a very distracting way. As an imaginary friend, he has no character arc.

I'm tempted to compare this to Roberto Benigni's Life is Beautiful, which also has a big switch of tone halfway through. Benigni's film is two separable but connected stories (the romantic comedy and the desperate attempt to survive the concentration camp) set before and during World War II. Jojo Rabbit is one continuous story that changes in tone. Both films successfully navigate the change and are very moving portrayals. Both movies are more honest about the horrors than they seem from their trailers.

Highly recommended--this would make a great double-bill with Life is Beautiful. If you enjoyed that, you'll enjoy this film.