AND THE HEALING HAS BEGUN (MASS)

 

There's been a tradition over the years of movies set in tight confines that become showcases for great acting.

Usually, but not always, they have their roots as plays and feature characters in highly stressful situations.

Sidney Lumet's 1957 jury drama 'Twelve Angry Men' with Henry Fonda is a prime example of how to do it well, with its characters arguing over the fate of an 18 year old boy on trial for fatally stabbing his father.

James Foley's 1992 version of David Mamet's 'Glengarry, Glen Ross,' with Jack Lemmon and Al Pacino, is another fine example - taking place in a real estate office whose salesmen are desperately competing with each other to save their jobs.

Steven Knight's 2013 drama 'Locke' with Tom Hardy unfolded over the course of an 84 minute car journey as a construction foreman's life falls apart during a series of phone calls.

Fran Kranz's 110 minute drama 'Mass' is the latest movie to follow this template - taking on one of the hottest issues in the US today, gun control and more specifically, the aftermath of a Parkland style massacre.

Inspired by the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was headed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, writer director Kranz has crafted a sincere and believable movie about two sets of parents struggling to make sense of a high school shooting.

Martha Plimpton and Jason Isaacs' Gail and Jay Perry are mourning the loss of their son, Evan in the massacre.

Reed Birney and Ann Dowd's Richard and Linda are also grieving for their son.

However their grief is compounded by the fact that their son Hayden killed all the other victims.

Brought together by a desire to understand what happened, they meet several years later in the side room of an Episcopalian Church with the help of Michelle N Carter's Kendra.

Before the couples arrive, Kendra gives very specific instructions about how the room should be set up to Breeda Wool's church worker Judy and her assistant, Kagen Albright's Anthony.

She is officious and blunt as Judy tries to placate her.

You can feel the tension even before the Perrys arrive and when they do, Kranz simply turns up the dial. 

Gail is initially in two minds about whether she can cope with taking part in a discussion with the parents of her son's killer.

Jay tries to soothe her.

When Linda and Richard arrive, the tension further intensifies.

Linda presents Gail with some flowers she has made up but they are coolly received.

There's a rather stiff conversation about how the respective couples made their way to the church.

It doesn't take long though for them to wrestle with their respective grief.

Linda asks Gail to show some photographs of Evan and that's when the emotions really start to fly.

Over the next 90 minutes, a verbal ping pong match erupts as the Perrys try to fathom how Hayden could have carried out the massacre and why Richard and Linda didn't anticipate the danger.

As the conversation heats up, everyone struggles to contain their emotions.

Linda is sometimes tearful and apologetic.

Richard becomes defensive as Jay's frustration gets the better of him.

Jay is often confounded by Richard and Linda's failure to acknowledge they could have spotted the warning signs about Hayden.

Without giving too much away, the exchanges become raw, bruising and eventually draining.

They're illuminating too as Richard and Linda convey the additional burden they have had to carry around with them in the years following the massacre as the parents of a publicly despised son.

As Richard says, he and Linda have grieved for 11 young people while the rest of the world mourned 10 victims.

They have done so in the knowledge that Hayden is reviled.

Kranz and his cast do a superb job showing just how messy the quest for truth and reconciliation is.

They capture the desperation of people to understand why a sudden loss of life happened and the disappointment when they feel their pain is not being acknowledged.

Their characters' desire to make sense of it all will resonate with anyone who has lost a loved one to a hit and run or a drink driving incident, a murder, a disaster, a terror attack or an act of war.

So will their anguish and pain.

Kranz's script crackles with memorable lines and moments.

But what's most impressive about 'Mass' is its unfailing honesty.

The characters' anger, frustration, disbelief, defensiveness, shame, guilt and grief are natural and convincing.

There's no Hollywood cop out.

No easy option is taken.

With a screenplay as powerful as Kranz's, the four principal actors just soar.

Plimpton is wonderful as a mum who initially wants to see evidence that the family of her son's killer are suffering.

Isaacs is terrific as her husband who grows increasingly frustrated by Richard's defensiveness and caution.

As the parents of the killer, Dowd and Birney have the tougher task and are up for the challenge.

Birney does a remarkable job as a suburban professional who looks like he doesn't want to be there and is initially fearful of getting into discussions that might result in a lawsuit.

Dowd gets to deliver some of the movie's most devastating speeches as Linda is overwhelmed by the pain of the Perrys and regret over her inability to stop Hayden.

The supporting cast are excellent too, with Carter, Wool and Albright in cracking form.

As the characters fire observations back and forth, viewers will be reminded of the electrifying exchange between Michael Fassbender's Bobby Sands and Liam Cunningham's Father Dominic in Steve McQueen's 2008 Northern Ireland Troubles tale 'Hunger'.

And while its synopsis undoubtedly sounds like it's too heavy going a subject for many viewers, the performances make 'Mass' a hugely rewarding watch.

Such are the intensity of Dowd, Burney, Plimpton and Isaacs' performances that you are left wondering why 'Mass' hasn't been a major contender during awards season - particularly in the acting categories.

Perhaps the subject matter is a little too challenging.

Perhaps the theatricality of Kranz's film is also partly to blame.

'Mass' would unquestionably make a compelling play if it is ever performed in the theatre.

But while it is theatrical, unlike much of the recent writing of Aaron Sorkin for film, Kranz avoids obvious tub thumping speeches about the dangers of America's gun culture.

No neat solutions are offered as Jay and Richard clash over whether gun control is really an issue about access to weapons or mental health.

The moments where the quartet's respective characters start to empathise with each other are messy, heartfelt and awkward.

Kranz, his cinematographer Ryan Jackson Healy and film editor Yang Hua Hu adopt an understated approach, allowing us to subtly observe the debate as it unfolds.

As points are forcibly made during a discussion that gets heated at times, Kranz and Hua Hu cut to the perplexed faces of the other characters as they try to absorb what is being said.

And then, just as you think the film is gently landing he delivers two contrasting moments that really rock the soul - the beauty of an unseen choir rehearsing, followed by a shocking story from one character.

'Mass' turns out to also have arguably one of the smartest titles to be given to a movie in recent years.

Given its church setting, it clearly touches upon the sacred but it could also refer to the state of Massachusetts. 

'Mass' may also refer to the massacre which is often referred to by the media as a "mass shooting".

But it could also be a reflection of the emotional burden that both couples have carried around with them.

A compassionate, compelling and intellectually and morally challenging tale, Kranz's movie deserves a mass audience.

A low budget indie movie tackling gief and anger may not be the easiest sell but it'll be fascinating to see if 'Mass' continues to grow in stature in years to come.

('Mass' was released simultaneously in UK cinemas and on Sky Cinema on January 21, 2022)