Anne Hathaway and ‘Armageddon Time’ Cast on How James Gray’s Film Captures Post-Segregation Racism and the American Dream

variety.com:

Antonio Ferme editor James Gray’s “Armageddon Time” explores the complexity of the American Dream — the idea that every citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success through hard work and initiative — from the perspective of a Jewish family in 1980. “In some ways,” according to star Anne Hathaway, the status of this idealistic pursuit has remained “very similar” over the years.

At the same time, the actor pinpointed a notable societal change that she hopes continues to persist. “If there’s one thing that I really do hope that we keep coming to a different place about because it keeps coming up at such an impossibly high cost, is that we’re more willing to see ourselves as a part of the problem,” Hathaway told Variety on Wednesday night at the “Armaggedon Time” New York Film Festival premiere. “Not in a fragile way, but in a way that we can affect change by changing ourselves.” For the film’s protagonist, aspiring 11-year-old artist Paul Graff (Banks Repeta), systemic oppression becomes the backdrop of his primary conflict.

After befriending the only Black student in his class, Johnny (Jaylin Webb), Paul becomes conscious of his racial and socioeconomic class advantages — and how they could ultimately burden the life of those without such protections.

Johnny, who wishes to become an astronaut one day, is seen feeling constantly belittled by his sixth-grade teacher (Andrew Polk) and society at large.