Toronto International Film Festival 2023: UPROAR

Uproar, directed by Hamish Bennett and Paul Middleditch and written by Hamish Bennett, and Sonia Whiteman, and is a sweet and inspiring coming-of-age dramedy highlighting the insecurities of what it means to be a teenager, with all its ups and downs, overwhelming emotions, and moments of self-discovery.

Embracing Culture During Tumultuous Times

Uproar is set in New Zealand in 1981, as protests against apartheid and racism spark from the 1981 South African rugby tour through New Zealand. Uproar makes a great decision to set its story about a mixed race teenager Josh Waaka (Julian Dennison) around these real moments of protest and change. The time period and setting of Uproar adds more to Josh’s struggles accepting and embracing the Māori part of his culture and heritage.

Uproar follows Josh, who feels like he doesn’t quite fit in anywhere–an especially relatable portrayal of what it’s like being a teenager. No matter when and where you grew up or if you are currently going through teenagerhood, Uproar is relatable. Its depiction of teenagers is realistic and harkens to the messiness that come with finding ourselves during the most emotional time of our lives.

Uproar is a charming and inviting film, especially Julian Dennison’s charismatic performance which captures all the awkwardness that comes from being a teenager trying to find where they fit in, especially in a world that is not easily accepting.

Josh searches for personal identity through discovering his school’s drama club as well as finding the local Māori community. Uproar does not shy away from its setting within a tumultuous time protesting apartheid. The film actually shows us scenes of protests and how peaceful displays of people hoping for acceptance are met with police violence.

The film harrowingly displays how seeing this firsthand deeply impacts Josh and makes him question the validity of his other teenage problems. This combination of realistic violence against minorities and Josh’s personal struggles fitting in at school create a film that captures the realism of the world. Even teens who just want to deal with finding a place to fit in at school have to lose their innocence during times of nationwide strife.

Uproar builds this into the narrative, expressing how Josh went from a bystander only worrying about his own problems to an active participant standing up against racism and protesting alongside his fellow Māori community.

Uproar tells a captivating coming-of-age story showing how Josh learns about his Māori culture and finds himself in the process.

One of the most memorable scenes comes when Josh goes against the planned acting school audition he prepared with his teacher and instead performs the Haka to show that he now accepts his father’s Māori culture as his own instead of hiding it in an effort to be accepted by his classmates.

Realistic Depiction of Being a Teenager

There is a wonderful flow between hilarious scenes depicting the awkwardness of growing up to emotional, difficult moments showing the racism of the world at large and especially how it impacted New Zealand at the time. Uproar is a beautiful coming-of-age dramedy highlighting the importance to stand up against discrimination.

Uproar creates a realistic depiction of the 1980s in New Zealand, capturing what it was like growing up in this era, especially as a Māori teenager.

Uproar has its fair share of inspirational and emotional moments tied to Julian Dennison’s captivating and charming performance, making us think back to our own high school days. And we care so much about what happens to Josh. We feel proud as he learns more about himself and finds a sense of belonging within his own people and joins in during the happy days as well as the difficult ones.

Conclusion:

Uproar is an engaging and funny coming-of-age dramedy anchored to a powerful, cathartic performance from Julian Dennison–who brings a relatable warmth and understated humor to the role of Josh.