Wilmington teen actor stars in high-profile movie opening in theaters this weekend

"Armageddon Time," a movie from Focus Features starring 14-year-old Wilmington actor Banks Repeta, opened in theaters last weekend.

Unless you live in New York or Los Angeles, however, you'll have to wait until this week for the movie to open in Wilmington, and in theaters nationwide, on Nov. 3.

In the meantime, here's a few things to know about the movie, and about Banks.

More: Wilmington filmOn the red carpet or in scenes with stars: Wilmington actor Banks Repeta plays it cool

It's 'Armageddon Time'

The movie is a semi-autobiographical story written and directed by the filmmaker James Gray, best known for such critically acclaimed films as 2019's "Ad Astra" starring Brad Pitt, and 2013's socially conscious "The Immigrant."

Based partly on Gray's experiences growing up in New York City, it stars Banks as an 11-year-old Jewish boy named Paul Graff, who's from a working-class family but whose relatively privileged experiences are contrasted with those of Paul's African-American best friend, Johnny, played by Jaylin Webb.

It's set during the racially charged days of New York City in the early 1980s, and the election of Ronald Reagan serves as a kind of tone-setting moment. "Armageddon Time," which got an eight-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival in France earlier this year, has gotten attention for its depiction of members of the Trump family, including John Diehl as Fred Trump, the late father of former President Donald J. Trump.

It's got big stars

In the movie, Banks shares scenes with Hollywood royalty.

Oscar-winning actress Anne Hathaway plays Paul's mother, Esther, who cautiously guards her son's future. Two-time Oscar-winner Anthony Hopkins plays Paul's grandfather, who encourages him to stand up for what's right.

Yet another Oscar winner, Jessica Chastain, who recently shot the country music miniseries "George & Tammy" in Wilmington, plays Maryanne Trump, sister to the former president. Less well known but playing a prominent role in "Armageddon Time" is Emmy-winning actor Jeremy Strong ("Succession"), who plays Paul's goofy but sometimes violent father.

A young actor on the rise

"Armageddon Time" is Banks' most prominent role to date, but he's been acting since he was 6 and has more than a dozen film and TV roles to his credit.

He plays the recurring role of town kid Levi in Wilmington-shot Fox TV comedy "Welcome to Flatch," and earlier this year Banks was featured as the "ghost kid" Griffin in Wilmington-shot horror thriller "The Black Phone," playing a murder victim who tries to help a serial killer's next potential victim from beyond the grave.

In 2019, Banks acted alongside Bill Skarsgård (Pennywise the clown from the "It" movies) and Tom "Spider-Man" Holland in the crime drama "The Devil All the Time" from director Antonio Campos ("The Staircase" on HBO Max).

In recent weeks, Banks, who attends a public middle school in Wilmington, has been traveling to do press for "Armageddon Time."

Banks' parents are Nina Repeta, a singer and actor known for her recurring role on the Wilmington-shot series "Dawson's Creek," and a former queen of Wilmington's Azalea Festival. Banks' father, Mike Repeta, is a camera operator who's worked on dozens of films and TV series.

Awards on deck?

"Armageddon Time" was already nominated for the prestigious Palme d'Or at Cannes, and Gray was recently nominated for Best Screenplay at the Gotham Independent Film Awards.

The biggest awards and nominations for "Armageddon Time," however, may be yet to come.

In September, film industry publication Variety wrote that "Focus Features is trying to position writer, director and co-producer James Gray as one of the awards season’s breakout nominees."

More writing nominations are certainly possible, and Variety notes that Hathaway, Hopkins and Strong are all potential Best Supporting Actress/Actor nominees for the 2023 Academy Awards.

Banks was the only actor from "Armageddon Time" that Focus Features submitted for consideration in the Best Actor category for the Oscars, and while a Best Actor nomination would be a long shot, it's within the realm of possibility.

What critics are saying

The critical reception for "Armageddon Time" has been good, with the film getting an 84% positive rating on the all-important Rotten Tomatoes site and a "generally favorable" 74% rating on Metacritic.

The Los Angeles Times called the film "powerful" and said "Repeta’s wide-eyed gaze captures Paul’s flickering moments of awareness, his confusion as to why, whenever they get in trouble (which is often), it’s always Johnny who’s singled out for harsher punishment."

The Onion's often-harsh AV Club entertainment site called "Armageddon Time" Gray's best work to date.

The Screen Rant site gave "Armageddon Time" a negative review, but said, "The film’s saving grace is the chemistry between Repeta and Webb. As Paul and Johnny, the young duo performs with such a calming comfort and innocence that captivates from the time of their first interaction onscreen."

Message John Staton at 910-343-2343 or John.Staton@StarNewsOnline.com.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Armageddon Time starring teenage Wilmington NC actor Banks Repeta