Uproar, set in Dunedin in 1981, features Julian Dennison as a 17-year-old stuck in a rugby-obsessed country under pressure from home and school to conform. Video / ONE Media
REVIEW:
Uproar may be set in the 1980s but there’s not a streak of fluro or hot flash of neon to be seen. Instead, the film’s era-authentic embrace of drab browns will be instantly familiar to those who lived through the era. This also feeds into the movie’s believability. Something that’s crucial considering the movie’s coming-of-age fiction revolves around violent, historical fact.
The backdrop of the film is the controversial Springbok Rugby Tour of 1981. This event divided the nation between those who thought politics had no place on the sports field and those who opposed South Africa’s apartheid laws of the time. Both were equally staunch in their beliefs with widespread protesting and riots engulfing the country during the three months of the tour.
Julian Dennison plays Josh Waka in the new Kiwi film. Photo / Marc Weakley/Cereal TV
It was a defining moment for our young nation. Questions of racism, human rights and the treatment of Māori were swept out from under the rug where they’d been hidden to be grappled with by the wider populace.
The movie follows 17-year-old Josh Waaka who likens the country during this time to Bruce Banner and his alter-ego the Incredible Hulk; quiet and peaceful on the outside and filled with rage underneath.
Josh is played by Julian Dennison, the breakout star of The Hunt for the Wilderpeople who has since forged a career in Hollywood with starring roles in Deadpool 2 and Godzilla vs Kong. He’s always been a charismatic presence on screen, his natural charisma and likeability endearing him to worldwide audiences.
The film is set in Dunedin. Photo / Marc Weakley/Cereal TV
Here, he’s really given the chance to showcase his acting chops. His performance starts natural and light before gradually deepening as Josh struggles to find his place in the world alongside a political awakening brought about by the Springboks’ imminent arrival in his hometown of Dunedin and the hostile and normalised racism he faces each lunchbreak at the fictional St Gilberts School for Men and in the wider community.
Pressured into joining the school’s First XV by his solo mum (played by Minnie Driver) who wants the school’s old boy network to watch out for him, he finds refuge in the small drama club run by the chirpy English teacher Brother Madigan (played by Rhys Darby) who has recognised Josh’s gift of the gab.
The club offers Josh solace away from the lunchtime bullies and gives him a purpose he’d otherwise been lacking. Encouraged by his teacher’s words (“I don’t know if you’re good, but you’re not crap,”) and his own enjoyment of the craft he begins dreaming about leaving Dunedin and attending drama school.
Julian Dennison and Minnie Driver starring in the new film, Uproar. Photo / Marc Weakley/Cereal TV
But it’s a dream that’s quickly shot down by his mum who is concerned for her son’s future. When he’s almost expelled for attending a Springbok protest rally he’s forced to wake from his theatrical dreams and put his energy into rugby.
Of course, once lit passions can’t be so easily extinguished. Josh’s double awakening is only strengthened as the issues and conflict surrounding the protests spill into his life in a very real way.
While you could never accuse Uproar of being a subtle film, the occasional monologue seems more directed at the audience than the characters, it is a powerful and emotional one. It details a pivotal and confronting period in Aotearoa’s history and grounds it in a relatable and personal story. The sprinkling of actual news footage of the protests and riot police throughout only strengthens its message.
As said, Dennison gives another standout performance. While he may have been at risk of being typecast as a cheery joker sidekick, here his range is amply demonstrated. His work in the film’s emotional climax is startlingly great in its intensity and feeling.
Julian Dennison and Rhys Darby in the new film, Uproar.
Darby who has made a career of being the cheery joker sidekick also shines here, toning down his unbridled enthusiasm to believable levels and bringing a caring teacher’s sensitivity to the role while also retaining his quirky humour. His exasperated argument with the school’s librarian over his noise level in her otherwise empty library being a true laugh-out-loud moment.
James Rolleston and Driver are both as good as you’d expect as Josh’s brother and mum, respectively, and Mark Mitchinson brings the exact right level of conservative authority as the school’s principal.
Leaning more on the drama part of its dramedy description, Uproar is a solid and enjoyable film that isn’t afraid to tackle big issues. It would have been easy to fumble these hot-button topics, especially as it picks up and runs with a number of them. Fortunately, it deftly sidesteps around the traps and skillfully gets the ball over the line.
It’s a uniquely Kiwi film that also speaks to wider global and societal issues in a distinctly personal way. Uproar is a movie that deserves to be shouted about.
