22 July Review: 5 Ups & 4 Downs

1. Its Message Is Urgently Important

Above all else, July 22 packs a powerful and important message about the surging rise of right-wing extremism across Europe in recent years, and how governments must be careful not to ignore the threats posed by domestic terrorism (and, if we're being blunt, the too-often ignored dangers of white men).

While you can argue the film focuses too much on Breivik, it serves the purpose of foregrounding his grotesque, misguided hatred rather than granting a stage to his horrifying agenda.

It's important to know that there are many people like Breivik out there, regardless of whether their weapon is a machine-gun or a computer keyboard, and denying them agency where possible is absolutely paramount.

Greengrass' movie doesn't get on a soapbox or end with a desperate plea to stamp out the alt-right, but it doesn't take much reading between the lines to see the moral imperative.

What did you think of 22 July? Shout it out in the comments!