May be the most pleasant surprise of the year! I’m a huge Taika fan and basically love everything he does, but when I first heard the plot for Jojo Rabbit, I was intrigued, but questioned whether he could pull it off or not. It is a bizarre concept. But Taika has made it work so so well.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is how you do satire. While the film is funny, silly and an absolute hoot, it never takes its subject matter lightly, and it’s humour pushes boundaries but is always tasteful. This is due to Taika’s masterful direction. He perfectly uses pathos here, as he’s done in the past, balancing crazy scenarios and wild characters with real empathy and dramatic, emotional impact. The script is witty and fun, yet has so much heart and sorrow too. And what an awesome soundtrack!

Roman Griffin Davis is astounding and gives one of the best child actor performances of the past few years. He is hilarious and charming, yet has real emotional depth, and steals every scene he’s in. Thomasin McKenzie is fantastic too, as are the rest of the supporting cast - special shout-out to adorable Archie Yates who plays Yorki! And you wouldn’t believe it, but Waititi as an imaginary version of Hitler works. So damn well. He’s so cleverly used to represent Jojo‘s state of mind and changing views, it’s really just genius. 

Jojo Rabbit could have easily not worked but it does, thanks to Taika, his incredible way of balancing both humour and drama, and some great performances. One of his best.