NEW REVIEW: "22 July" (2018)

MRMOVIESETC REVIEWS:

“22 July” (2018)

"You can't call the Prime Minister. And Norway isn't on trial. You are."

“22 July” is the latest biopic from Director Paul Greengrass centered around the terrorist attacks that took place in and around Oslo, Norway back in 2011 carried out solely by Anders Behring Breivik (played here by Anders Danielsen Lie). A member of the “Knights Templar”, a secret nationalist organization that formed shortly after 9/11, Breivik decided it was time to carry out the mission of his so-called brotherhood and attack via a car bomb at the Prime Minister main office building and mass shooting at an island retreat for teenagers whom are also the kids of government officials on July 22, 2011. The reason for this attack, so he says, was due to Norway’s liberal insistence of multi-cultural acceptance of foreign refugees when not everybody, speaking mainly from his own point of view and some others, are not on board because those under the Islam flag are all dangerous without exception.

These events capture what is almost the entire First Act of the film. From there, it centers on main character and real-life survivor, Viljar Hanssen (Jonas Strand Gravli). After barely escaping the aforementioned retreat with critical gunshot wounds, including a round that exploded inside his brain, Viljar must not only summon the courage to recover and accept the fact a few remaining pieces of shrapnel near his brain stem can kill him at any given moment, but also face Breivik during trial so he can tell he side of the story of what happened.

That’s essentially it as far as the story goes; though, “it” is a gross underrepresentation of what is, by the numbers, the most devastating plot against human life Norway has ever known, and truthfully the worst all of Europe has ever known post-World War II. It’s a tragedy that cannot be slimmed down in so few words.

When “22 July” was released last year on Netflix, I vaguely recall some criticisms towards it as a movie, but not so much the social and political side. The main point of contention, of course, was the very upfront presence of Breivik and that the mere portrayal of him on screen was a glorification of his deeds.  To be absolutely clear, I am more than receptive to that concern – to a degree. Of course nobody likes having the bandage of history ripped off when the wound is still this fresh, and yes, thanks mostly to sensationalist media, the killers almost always get the scales tipped in their favor when it comes to the spotlight. Nobody can really be blamed for having a negative reaction to a film having this kind of set up.

That being said, the ugly side of history cannot be swept under the rug. I mean, sure, “22 July” could have started right after the violence and been entirely about Viljar’s journey leading up to the trial, but it could also be argued that approach would rob his redemption of its backbone. To me, it’s all about balance when it comes to these stories and this has been the calling card of Greengrass his entire cinematic career, sans the “Bourne” films. The First Act is an unsettling thing to see, and while it does have that Hollywood-esque suspense polish to it, Greengrass does a good job of not making it feel like it should be entertainment, per se, despite the high heartrate it creates.   

The other big complaint is more minor in my view, and that was the fact that the film was in English when, being based in Norway, that wouldn’t be the language traditionally spoken. This is indeed a true instatement, and fine, whatever, it would not have bothered me one little bit if I had to read subtitles instead, but that isn’t at all the point or the reason. “22 July” wasn’t made for a smaller crowd of people like myself whom don’t care what language a film as in as long as there are subtitles; it was made for a wide global audience, most of which would likely understand English, so that’s what Greengrass decided to do. It’s over, it’s done, please move on.

Seeing as this film is all things human-driven drama, the caliber of performances is what stands out the most, and they are quite good. Lie doesn’t exactly pull off the look of Breivik in real-life, but I can see why the casting crew went after him – he’s a seriously intense performer. A native of Norway himself, as well as most of the cast, I cannot fathom how hard it must have been to mentally prep for a role like this knowing it was going to get some backlash. It is abundantly clear, however, that he was sold hard into the vision that Greengrass was trying to create, and his character oozes that hateful naivety created from fear of a world he doesn’t understand as much as thinks he does.

On the flipside of the narrative coin, Gravli is also excellent as young man whose world is turned upside down and now literally has no idea when he’ll die, but it could be at any moment from one bad shake to the head. At first I thought his performance was inconsistent in a negative way, but now after reflecting, I think I liked him more because of that fact. Viljar would have been going through a myriad of emotional mood swings as Gravli tried to bring to life in his own way (Viljar Hanssen is quoted as saying this film got it right in the accuracy department), so it was fitting to see fluent acting mixed with some rigidness. This film most likely does not work very well at all if these two fell short in any areas, so it’s great to see that not be the case.

If it wasn’t obvious already, the pacing side of things is going to be perhaps less forgiving depending on what you’re expecting. The film practically plays out as the experience of a roller coaster ride in reverse; instead of waiting in line to get on the ride, you immediately get to ride the roller coaster, and then wait in line to exit. That’s a really crappy example, but I think you get the idea. That’s how it went down in reality so there’s not much else to be done with it, but just be ready for a lot of quiet after a brief stint of big noise.

One area I do feel fell oddly short is the lack of attention to Lara Rashid, another survivor of the retreat whom lost her sister in the attack, and ultimately, has the foreign background that drew Breivik's ire. Obviously that would have made for a much different, longer film, but the context of it alone hould have made her much more than Viljar's shoulder to cry on. 

At the end of the day, a film like this even being made is going to ruffle some feathers either before or after it is seen. I can only imagine that was anticipated well in advance, because, as I said, this is Paul’s territory. This is what he does, and he’s damn consistent at it. I’ve heard there’s an equally good, if not better, documentary already out there. I liked this one enough that I cannot believe there’s a wrong choice going either way.

This isn’t the sort of film that one really “recommends”, but if you like giving your history itch a good scratch, this is at least one stop you can make along that road.

“22 July”: 8/10