Nitram is a 2021 Australian biographical psychological drama film directed by Justin Kurzel from a screenplay by Shaun Grant. The film revolves around the life and behaviors of a mentally distressed young man called "Nitram" (based on Martin Bryant), and the events leading to his involvement in the 1996 Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania, Australia. The film stars Caleb Landry Jones, Judy Davis, Essie Davis and Anthony LaPaglia.
Nitram premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 16 July 2021, where Jones won the Best Actor award for his performance. The film received a limited theatrical release in Australia on 30 September 2021, before a digital release on the Australian streaming service Stan on 24 November 2021. It received widespread critical acclaim for Kurzel's direction and the cast's performances (particularly Jones and Judy Davis), although the film sparked controversy in Tasmania. The film later received eight awards at the 11th AACTA Awards, including Best Film, Best Direction, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Original Screenplay.
Plot
The film opens with news footage of boys being interviewed in a burns unit of a hospital after playing with fireworks. One of them is asked whether he has learned his lesson not to play with them again; he replies that he would.
Nitram is an intellectually disabled young adult who lives with his parents in Port Arthur, Australia. He regularly sets off fireworks, which upsets the neighbours, and sells his fireworks to local schoolchildren. His father has recently been approved for a business loan, with which he hopes to buy a bed and breakfast that Nitram will help run. Nitram begs his mother to buy him a surfboard after seeing an attractive woman with a surfer, but his exasperated mother refuses.
Nitram tries mowing lawns to make money. In the process, he meets a neighbour named Helen, a retired actress and wealthy heiress, who offers to pay him to walk her dogs. The two quickly become friends, and Helen buys him a car, despite Nitram not having a driver's license and exhibiting a dangerous habit of grabbing the steering wheel when the two are driving.
Nitram becomes increasingly frustrated with life at home and tells his parents he is moving in with Helen, who permits him to stay in one of her spare rooms but insists that he get rid of his air rifle, as the gun upsets her. At his next birthday, Nitram introduces Helen to his parents; his mother tells Helen an anecdote about a young Nitram taking pleasure in the pain he caused her after pretending to be lost.
Despite having the funds for the bed and breakfast, Nitram's father is denied the purchase when another couple makes a higher offer, and he becomes despondent. Nitram asks Helen if the two can visit Hollywood, Los Angeles, but on the drive to the airport the next day, he once again lunges for the steering wheel, resulting in a devastating car crash that kills Helen and severely injures Nitram. When questioned by police about the accident, Nitram lies to the detectives by claiming he was asleep at the time of the crash.
Nitram, having inherited Helen's decaying mansion and over half a million dollars, starts to drink heavily. His mother asks him to help his father, who is severely depressed. Nitram then desperately attempts to buy the bed and breakfast with Helen's money, but the couple flatly refuses his offer. Several days later, his father's body is found in a nearby river after an apparent suicide. After he shows up to his father's funeral dressed in an electric blue suit and hat, Nitram's mother refuses to let him attend, fearing he will embarrass her. The increasingly isolated Nitram begins to take frequent overseas vacations by himself and practices shooting with his air rifle.
While watching the news one night, Nitram sees a report about the Dunblane massacre. He then becomes obsessed with guns, purchasing an unlicensed Colt AR-15 and shotgun from a local gun shop and ordering a handgun. One day, he drives to the bed and breakfast his father wanted to buy and shoots the new owners, then drives to the café where Helen and his parents celebrated his birthday. After ordering food, he sets up a video camera, retrieves one of his rifles from his sports bag and opens fire on the tourists. At her home, Nitram's mother smokes, unaware of the news report of the massacre playing in the background.