FilmSnobReviews

Title: Mass
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Fran Kranz
Starring: Jason Issacs, Martha Plimpton, Anne Dowd
Runtime: 1 hr 51 mins

What It Is: Jay (Isaacs), Gail (Plimpton), Linda (Dowd), and Richard (Reed Birney) are four people who are hurting after an unspeakable tragedy. They have come together in a church to discuss the tragedy and its effects on them personally and emotionally. When the conversation starts to turn for the worst everything they’ve been through bubbles to the surface and those raw nerves begin to turn into bitterness and anguish. The likes of which we cannot understand.

What We Think: This is an emotional rollercoaster ride that hurts so badly. It’s cathartic as an audience member. As the discussions commence we’re more and more vested in what is being said. As each and every detail of what happened unravels we begin to draw sides. The four characters are brilliantly portrayed and the acting is excellent throughout. Plimpton for me is the standout and I’m on board for her or Anne Dowd to receive a supporting nomination everywhere that can happen. This is a punch to the gut that by the end will possibly draw tears out of anyone seated in its vicinity. The atomic bomb-level emotions are beautifully packed in this simple 111 mins. There’s nothing spectacular from Kranz behind the lens. All his brilliance is reserved for the page here. An excellent debut from Kranz featuring four veteran actors showing us what’s possible when all emotions are on the line.

Our Grade: A, There really is nothing like this film in this contention this year. Perhaps the most simple approach it’s one that works swimmingly. This is a film that is on high emotion and won’t be for everyone. It’s charged by its events and those might be triggering to some. If you can get past that what you have is a brilliantly put-together piece that pulls absolutely no punches. It addresses the heart of its topics. Along the way pulling us, kicking and screaming, towards it exit. One we’re glad to finally reach in the best of ways.