Around a Table, Four Parents Try to Make Sense of a Tragedy

From left: Jason Isaacs, Martha Plimpton, 
Reed Birney, and Ann Dowd in "Mass"
Photo Credit: Imdb.com

The opening scene of writer-director Fran Kranz’s drama, “Mass,” has staff members at a church preparing for a meeting.  They seem a little on edge, but are doing what they can to get everything that’s needed.  It seems as though it all has to go according to plan, to make sure things are kept as civil as possible.  From these moments on, we know this is going to be a long day for everyone involved, and we don’t know how they will be shaped when the day is over.

The story follows the mother and father (Martha Plimpton and Jason Isaacs) of a school-shooting victim, who agree to meet with the perpetrator’s parents (Ann Dowd and Reed Birney).

The ensemble in the film provides some of the most heart-wrenching work that you’ll see in any movie this year.  At the beginning of their meeting, the cast captures the unease that permeates around the table as they talk to each other.  Their characters show that they’re trying to be comfortable in each other’s company, but they’re still able to show us the distance between them.  As the meeting goes on, the cast exhibits the slow changes from being calm with each other to being a little more hostile.  The ensemble soon arrives at a gut-wrenching stretch of the meeting where the victim’s parents talk about what the perpetrator’s parents could have done for their son to prevent the tragedy.  You understand the rage that Plimpton and Isaac’s characters feel in wanting someone to blame, but you also feel devastated for Dowd and Birney’s characters because of how much hate and blame they’ve received since the shooting.  From moments of quiet to moments of anger, this is a cast whose performances encapsulate the sense of longing that they feel to understand why things happened the way they happened, and to hopefully get passed the animosity that’s felt between them.

All four of the main cast members are provided with a chance to stand out with a scene that will, without a doubt, exhibit the fathoms of emotion that have been welling up in them since the tragedy.  However, it’s Dowd’s scene at the end that drives the movie home and gives it a final emotional gut-punch in a film that’s filled with many.  Here, she talks about an upsetting night that she had with her son and wonders what she could have done differently to help him.  Throughout the film, Dowd’s character is the one who seems the most composed and willing to communicate, acting as a sort of mediator for the group.  Behind that, however, you see someone whose soft-spoken and soothing presence is masking an unimaginable sadness, and she tries to keep it at bay in order to maintain civility at the meeting.  At the end of this year, Dowd’s performance is one that you’ll remember the most.

Franz’s screenplay slowly brings us into the setting.  The meeting doesn’t even commence until about 20 minutes into the movie; so, before that, we’re given an extended sequence that shows what’s being done in this environment to make sure it’s to the parents’ liking.  This eases us into what’s going to unfold in that room; and when the meeting starts, you’re absorbed in what takes place.  You’re not sure who will say the wrong thing, who will take something the wrong way, how much passing of the blame there will be, or what will be revealed, but you will be hanging on to everything that’s said.  Some of the strength of the narrative is how it seems to transpire in real time.  This gives every moment some extra power as we feel closer to the cathartic experience in which these characters take part.

Franz brings audiences a searing directorial debut.  As mentioned before about the opening scene, Franz establishes a sense of apprehension as he brings us into the church and shows the staff getting ready for the meeting attendees to arrive.  We feel the tension through the rectory as the staff gets the room situated, and this is an impactful introduction to the kind of atmosphere that viewers will experience as the meeting occurs.  From then on, you take one dramatic hit after another as you experience the grief and journey to forgiveness that unfolds.  For Fran to be able to generate this much of an impact from his cast and story exemplifies a filmmaking talent that’s sure to flourish, showing how much he can do with a limited cast and setting.

“Mass” isn’t easy viewing, but once you see what can be taken from it, you’ll feel fortunate to have experienced this.

Grade: A