Directed by: Shawn Ku
Starring: Michael
Sheen, Maria Bello, Alan Tudyk, Moon Bloodgood, and Kyle Gallner
Genre: Drama
Rated: R
A once loving family has long since stopped communicating.
With their only son away for his freshman year at college, Kate (Bello) and
Bill (Sheen) go through their monotonous daily routine, leaning ever closer to
divorce. When Sammy (Gallner) goes on a shooting spree, taking his own life and
those of several classmates, they have no choice but to band together against
the media and public outcry, even when their own relationship is extremely
fragile.
This movie is not an easy one to watch. The subject matter
is dark, and the overall film is depressing. Yet, it is a film that I feel
needed to be made. With such tragic acts of violence occurring so often in our
society, we often blame the parents of the perpetrators. This film was rather daring
in its focus on the negative effects an event like this can have on those the
shooter leaves behind. It was nice to see another side to a story like this,
rather than focus on the carnage involved in these scenarios.
The film did a great job depicting the grief the Kate and
Bill were feeling, as well as how they were ostracized by people they once
called friends and neighbors. The press staked out their home and offices, so
they had to hide out with relatives. Their lives become very rough, and the
viewer can’t help but wonder why Sammy would be so selfish as to do this to his
family.
The only thing I wanted after the credits rolled was more
about Sammy. All we really know about him is from his parents’ perspective and
the few snippets of him at school. It’s obvious he is depressed and feeling
overlooked, like no one ever listened to him. The only sense of his character
is given through the short story that he reads, bookending the film. A story
which is beautiful, but no one seems to understand. Yet through this story, and
Gallner’s brief portrayal of this troubled young man, the viewer gets a sense
of desperation and an urge to hug him – despite the awful things he’s about to
do, and even after he does them.
The performances in the film were all top-notch. Sheen and
Bello gave honest, moving performances as the grieving parents. Their pain was
almost tangible, and while I didn’t always agree with some of their actions, I
understood them. I also loved Alan Tudyk as Kate’s brother, Eric, who takes
them in for a while. He just comes off as such a loving, funny guy, and the
brief scene where he is playing with his son is so adorable that I can’t help
but smile. While Moon Bloodgood did a great job as Trish, her character
irritated me a lot, and I felt she caused a lot of unnecessary drama. She could have been a little more compassionate than she was.
This is one of those films that it is very hard not to get
emotionally involved in. I can’t call it enjoyable, because, with such subject
matter, how could it be? What it is is a solid story with believable,
sympathetic characters, great acting, and an honest view from a new
perspective.
8/10
