Armageddon Time film review — a mundane New York coming-of-age story

Set very precisely in the autumn of 1980 in a very specific part of Queens, New York, Armageddon Time gives off strong autobiographical vibes, even for those who know nothing about its writer-director. James Gray turned 11 in 1980, the same age as Armageddon Time’s protagonist Paul Graff (Banks Repeta) and grew up in the same part of Queens. What’s more of a mystery is whether Gray’s grandfather had an accent quite as weird as the Welsh-Yiddish mishmash Anthony Hopkins puts on display as Paul’s grandpa Aaron Rabinowitz.

Threaded through the film are events that seem even stranger, such as an encounter with Fred and Maryanne Trump (the latter played by Jessica Chastain, no less), father and sister of Donald — another episode apparently taken from Gray’s life, more or less. The appearance of the Trumps adds an ominous note to an otherwise somewhat mundane coming-of-age story.

Paul, a boy with a head full of dreams who wants to be an artist, tries to do the right thing by his African-American friend Johnny (Jaylin Webb) at a time when a Jewish kid had far more chances of getting ahead than a black one. Both young actors give strong performances, which is more than you can say for Jeremy Strong and Anne Hathaway, both laying it on too thick as Paul’s highly strung parents. As my own grandpa from the shtetl would say, without a trace of Welsh, oy gevalt.

★★☆☆☆

In US cinemas now and UK cinemas from November 18