22 July (Review)

'22 July' is a biographical drama film based on the 2011 Norway attacks. This film stars 
Anders Danielsen Lie and Jon Øigarden. This film is co-written and directed by Paul Greengrass.

Making a film of a real life traumatic event can often stir up controversy and can sometimes create accusations of insensitivity. I for one believe that these stories should be told so as an audience we don't see the people who died or were injured in the incident as just being another statistic, but rather a human being who had a life before those events unfolded.

Director Paul Greengrass does this well as he believes that the people injured should not be treated as victims, but rather survivors that have only become stronger. He doesn't shy away from the grim details of the event, yet they never feel sensationalized, similar to his previous film 'United 93' this film feels more like a observational documentary rather than a biographical drama.

While I do believe that some of the political themes in this film are overstated, I would never doubt their importance. At it's core, this film is about listening to people's belief's, no matter if you agree with them or not, if you give the time to listen to them you can achieve at least a basic understanding, a message which I think is important into today's trigger bait politics. (on both sides)

The performances across the board are great, but the real stand out here is Anders Danielsen Lie as the far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik. His performance is chilling and frighteningly realistic, truly one of the best performances I have seen this year, in a perfect world he would get nominated, but I'm highly doubtful as the Academy still seem to look down upon Netflix productions.

'22 July' is certainly a film I would recommend and while I think it could have been more tightly put together and could of done with some improved visual effects, it is a film which is important for people to see, not least of all the youth, who as in this film makes clear, are the voice of a new generation.

Rating: 7/10 

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