Mass is an incisive, cathartic, heart-wrenching chamber piece drama on how to deal with grief, anchored by gripping performances.
If you have attended the World Premiere of Mass, as part of the Premieres Section of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, the odds are that you ended up in awe of the emotional power of Director Fran Kranz’s directorial debut.
Note that this review contains spoilers.
Early on, the movie grips audiences with an escalating tension. Set in a church in Idaho, two couples convene to discuss a deeply poignant matter. As the film unfolds, the well-crafted dialogues gradually unveil pieces of an increasingly dramatic puzzle.
Gradually, we learn that one couple’s son was tragically killed in a high school mass shooting committed by the other couple’s son. Years later, the parents are still grappling with profound grief. Director Fran Kranz deftly captures the heartfelt quest of parents to comprehend the factors leading to their son’s tragic death. Through devastating dialogues, the characters express their pain with remarkable sincerity. In a raw, poignant scene, the murdered son’s mother shouts at the mother of her son’s killer, expressing the desperate need to share their pain. Despite the simplicity of Fran Kranz’s direction, the director skillfully balances hatred, despair, and empathy with impressive mastery. The film highlights the heartbreaking realization that one cannot measure the value of people’s pain. Behind the absorbing and gut-wrenching dialogues lie fundamental questions: Which grief is more profound—the loss of an innocent son to a deadly attack or the realization that one has raised a murderer? To what extent should the murderer’s parents be held accountable for their son’s actions? As the film articulates these different layers of grief, it delivers an incredibly powerful and emotional chamber piece.
As the four adults poignantly express their pain, Fran Kranz’s meticulous mise-en-scène illustrates their inner turmoil by isolating each character from the initial group setting. What Kranz has created in “Mass” is a space for both catharsis and empathy, making the film emotionally powerful, bolstered by magnetic performances from a quartet of actors, particularly Martha Plimpton, whose performance is truly gripping.
Moreover, the film delves into major issues plaguing American society. It addresses gun control, highlighting the ease with which the shooter obtained a weapon, and sheds light on the factors contributing to his isolation and resentment due to bullying.
The title “Mass” carries significant relevance, inviting viewers to consider the individual stories behind mass tragedies and the profound impact on the lives of those affected. In a country plagued by mass shootings, the film serves as a reminder of the human toll of such events and suggests hope can be found in faith amid darkness, as depicted in a poetic final scene set in a church.
In conclusion, “Mass” stands as one of the most devastating and powerful dramas at Sundance this year. In his debut feature, Fran Kranz crafts an incredibly moving drama that explores the complexities of human nature.
