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‘Mass’ Review: A Charged Meditation on the Aftermath of a School Shooting

The parents of the shooter meet the parents of a victim in a talk-therapy drama that packs a truthful punch.

By Owen Gleiberman

Owen Gleiberman

Chief Film Critic

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“ Mass ,” a drama that consists of two couples seated across a table from each other in a placidly sterile church antechamber, discussing the unthinkable (two of them are the parents of a teenage boy who was killed in a school shooting; the other two are the parents of the shooter), is a movie you could easily imagine having been a stage play. I don’t say that just for the obvious reasons (spare contained setting, characters who do nothing but talk, etc.). “Mass” was written and directed by Fran Kranz, who has never made a movie before but is a veteran actor, and he has crafted the dialogue so that it builds and flows and surges, revealing and concealing at the same time, drawing us to the center of its rhythms. There’s a special pleasure to be had in seeing actors engage in this kind of winding conversational back-and-forth, which on stage can seize and hold you the way music does.

What the medium of movies can add is a sense of voyeuristic intimacy, and that’s the quality that “Mass” has. It’s like a slow-burn group confession that’s also a debate, and it invites us to take a journey into the souls of all four of these people. Sitting with them in that room, we travel somewhere. “Mass” might be described as a talk-therapy thriller built out of memory — a psychodrama, a meditation, and benediction, all at the same time. On some level the film is undeniably a conceit; it takes a highly explosive situation and gives it the rounded contours of a 12-step catharsis. Yet the writing is so deft, and the actors so committed, that by the end you feel you’ve touched the burning core of something real.

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I wouldn’t say that revealing the premise of “Mass” counts as a “spoiler,” but the way Kranz has designed the film, it takes a while to learn who these people are and why they’ve agreed to meet at a small Episcopal church, and there’s more to that delay than meets the eye. The hosts usher the participants into the anteroom with great care, as if they were preparing for a vital peace talk between two nations — and, in a sense, they are. And even if you do know the premise of the movie, it takes a bit of time to figure out which couple is which. That’s all quite intentional. “Mass,” among other things, is an inquiry into questions of guilt and innocence and the surprising ways they can overlap.

When an event as tragic, and horrific, as a school shooting takes place, our primal instinct — as individuals, as a society — is to want to know who or what to blame. How, after all, do we keep it from happening again? In recent years, however, the question of who or what to blame has been increasingly sucked up into the culture wars. The culprit is guns and gun laws! The culprit is mental illness! The culprit is first-person-shooter video games! The culprit is irresponsible parenting! All these issues are alluded to in “Mass,” but that doesn’t mean that it’s a movie about definitive answers — or politics.

The massacre the film is about took place six years before, and we’re given to understand that its aftermath played out on the overbright canvas of media, with all the parents hauled in front of the cameras, interviewed over and over again. Gail ( Martha Plimpton ) and Jay ( Jason Isaacs ), who lost their son in the violent attack (the weapons included not just guns but explosives), have been leaders of the aggrieved, and activists; what happened then now defines their lives. The anguish that can fade but can never die is etched onto their faces, but they introduce themselves to the officious Richard (Reed Birney) and the tremulous Linda ( Ann Dowd ), the parents of the shooter, by presenting them with a small bouquet, a kind of peace offering. These four, it’s implied, have traced one another for years and know all there is to know about the case. So what’s to be gained?

What Gail and Jay want, most of all, is to be able to look Richard and Linda in the eye and ask: Is there something, in hindsight, you knew about your son that should have been a red flag? Something you were in denial of? The boy was troubled, and this has been chronicled; he was bullied. Linda and Richard still disagree about whether they should have moved, taking him out of the woodland setting he loved and into a more suburban place. Yet their refrain, stated in various ways, is: We didn’t know. We couldn’t have known. There’s no way anyone in our position could have known . Gail and Jay don’t believe this, and in different ways — Jay angry and grandstanding, Gail ruled by a grief that thirsts for consolation — they hammer away.

Kranz has drawn forceful performances from all four actors. Plimpton shows you how the bitter, wrathful sting of recrimination can take over a gentle soul, and Isaacs seems to be ritually lacerating himself with a fury he can’t let go of. Birney, with his Midwest corporate blandness, strikes us as suspiciously detached until the scene in which he reveals that he holds the whole awful “choreography” of the shooting in his head, as if that could help him transcend it. And Dowd, in what may be the film’s richest performance, communicates something that seems subversive at first, until we begin to feel the sorrowful terror of it: that she, too, was victimized by who her son was.

What kind of an audience is there for a movie like “Mass”? Given the subject, maybe a modestly sized, intensely self-selective one. Yet the movie announces Fran Kranz as a bold new filmmaker who has earned the right to excavate a subject as sensitive as this one. In “Mass,” he peels away at it, holds it up to the light, and finally sees right into it. He makes a kind of moral promise to the audience, saying: If you don’t flinch, this film won’t either.

Reviewed at Digital Arts, Jan. 18, 2021. Running time: 110 MIN.

• Production: A 7 Eccles Street production. Producers: Fran Kranz, Casey Wilder Mott, J.P. Ouellette, Dylan Matlock. Executive producers: Joe Abrams, Nico Falls, Marshall Rawlings, Douglas Matejka.
• Crew: Director, screenplay: Fran Kranz. Camera: Ryan Jackson-Healy. Editor: Yang-Hua Hu. Music: Darren Morze.
• With: Martha Plimpton, Jason Isaacs, Ann Dowd, Reed Birney, Breeda Wool, Michelle N. Carter, Kagen Albright.

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‘mass’: film review | sundance 2021.

Jason Isaacs, Martha Plimpton, Ann Dowd and Reed Birney play the respective parents of one of the victims and the perpetrator of a school shooting in a face-to-face encounter in Fran Kranz's chamber drama.

By David Rooney

David Rooney

Chief Film Critic

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Debuting writer-director Fran Kranz ‘s years as an actor show in the powerful performances he draws from his tight ensemble in Mass , a drama of searing intimacy that trades the political for the personal in its reflections on gun violence and mental health. With laser focus and unflinching emotional candor, the film approaches the seemingly unending horror of school shootings in America from the viewpoint of devastated parents on both sides of the tragedy, six years later. It’s a harrowing watch, but a cathartic one, with each of the four superb principal actors delivering scenes of wrenching release.

In addition to his career in film and television (he was part of the unofficial Joss Whedon repertory company in Dollhouse , The Cabin in the Woods and Much Ado About Nothing ), Kranz has notched up solid theater credits, including the Mike Nichols-directed Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman led by Philip Seymour Hoffman and Andrew Garfield. His no-frills first feature could very easily have been a play, though Kranz applies minimal stylistic embellishments to give visual life to the predominantly single-setting, talk-driven piece.

Venue : Sundance Film Festival (Premieres) Release date : Friday, Oct. 8 Cast : Jason Isaacs, Ann Dowd, Martha Plimpton, Reed Birney, Breeda Wool, Michelle N. Carter, Kagen Albright Director-screenwriter : Fran Kranz

Most of the action takes place around a table in a downstairs room for community group use at a small Episcopal church; it was shot in Hailey, Idaho, though the town is unnamed in the script. Parish workers Judy (Breeda Wool) and Anthony (Kagen Albright) get busy arranging a table and chairs, and setting out snacks and beverages before the arrival of strictly-business social worker Kendra (Michelle N. Carter), who surveys the setup for potential triggers. These secondary figures then retreat as the movie becomes fundamentally a four-hander.

Tension in the car between one couple, Gail ( Martha Plimpton ) and Jay ( Jason Isaacs ), indicates the fortitude required of them just to come this far. Gail’s terse manner and a few half-choked words reveal that she’s still unsure whether she can go through with the carefully planned meeting. Jay’s sorrowful eyes settle on a red ribbon tied to a barbed wire fence on the edge of a field backed by mountains. That image recurs later to striking effect as the aspect ratio widens to indicate a shift in the perspective of four people previously locked in their own chambers of grief.

The awkwardness in the room is palpable when Richard (Reed Birney) and Linda ( Ann Dowd ) arrive, despite polite small talk about the drive to get there and the arrangement of flowers Linda has made for Gail. Unsure of how to proceed with a subject still too painful to discuss, they resort to methods suggested in advance by Kendra, such as sharing photographs. But it’s not long before tightly wound Gail bristles at the artificial pleasantries.

Kranz’s screenplay parcels out details with unhurried economy, allowing us to piece together specifics about the death of Gail and Jay’s son in an attack involving explosives and firearms, carried out with unsparing cruelty by the son of Richard and Linda before taking his own life.

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While Jay has become involved in the campaign against gun violence in what would appear to have been a desperate urge to fill the void, Richard is defensive, attempting to shift the discussion to inadequacies in the mental health care provided both by the school and by therapists who treated his son. His gray business suit and stiff formality make it no surprise that Richard and the more earnest, touchy-feely Linda have since separated, even if he’s frank about blaming himself.

The history of their son as a victim of bullying, friendless and increasingly isolated, finding escape in online video game roleplay, emerges not as justification but as acknowledgement of alarming signs his parents admit they should have monitored more closely. But there’s genuine compassion, particularly in Dowd’s performance, for the helplessness of a mother watching her child become more withdrawn and struggling to reach him.

It’s almost an hour into the film before voices are raised, a testament to how meticulously Kranz and his cast calibrate the emotional temperature in the room. DP Ryan Jackson-Healy’s camera moves gracefully back and forth among the four participants, clocking every connecting glance or averted gaze, as Gail and Jay struggle to stick to Kendra’s guidelines of expressing their feelings without being vindictive. Only when shredded nerves give way to heated outbursts does the frame tighten in on them, with movement becoming more agitated.

The most confrontational of the four — and the emotional center of the drama — is Gail, and Plimpton’s open wound of a performance is a reminder that she’s one of America’s most undervalued actors. (Her New York stage work across dramas, musicals and comedies consistently dazzles.) Gail’s anger has festered inside her since the tragedy, with no place to go, and some of the film’s most affecting moments involve the flickers of realization across her face as she admits to herself that any answer she demands won’t lessen her loss. Even more piercing is her gradual awareness of the commensurate pain suffered by the parents sitting opposite her, and her tearful recollection of a lovely story from when her late son was 12 is heartbreaking.

Isaacs is unexpected casting for Jay, who’s strong yet sensitive, with no trace of malice; watching him break as he voices his own needs, quite distinct from Gail’s, is extremely moving. While Richard thinks of his son’s hate as the product of a disturbed mind, Jay sees only apathy and evil. It’s the steady softening of feelings that have been hardened into him and Gail that makes their reserves of tenderness so shattering.

Birney, another invaluable regular of the New York stage community, has possibly the toughest part, Richard having somewhat compartmentalized his pain without ever finding relief from his sense of responsibility. But like all four leads, his disclosures cut deep. And Dowd as always impresses as a woman who continues to dredge down into her soul to interrogate herself on how she could have raised a murderer, yet refuses to stop loving her dead son. She gets the film’s resonant concluding speech when Linda returns to share one final mournful memory after the two couples have said their goodbyes.

Kranz has made a quiet, contemplative film on a subject of ongoing national urgency. Mass is most notable for its refusal to indulge in breast-beating theatrics, instead favoring psychological complexity and human connection as it tests the boundaries of forgiveness and understanding. The church setting aside, the film’s spirituality is understated — glimpsed in the framed Sistine Chapel detail hanging on one wall of the stark meeting room or in the face of Judy as she witnesses the final scene, and heard in the sounds of a hymn sung during choir practice over the closing moments.

Full credits

Venue: Sundance Film Festival (Premieres) Production company: 7 Eccles Street Distribution: Bleecker Street Cast: Jason Isaacs, Ann Dowd, Martha Plimpton, Reed Birney, Breeda Wool, Michelle N. Carter, Kagen Albright Director-screenwriter: Fran Kranz Producers: Fran Kranz, Casey Wilder Mott, J.P. Ouellette, Dylan Matlock Executive producers: Joe Abrams, Nico Falls, Marshall Rawlings, Douglas Matejka Director of photography: Ryan Jackson-Healy Production designers: Lindsey Moran, Mia Lyon Cherp Costume designer: Michele Minailo Music: Darren Morze Editor: Yang-Hua Hu Casting: Henry Russell Bergstein, Allison Estrin Sales: CAA/Gersh

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Mass review: a heartwrenching, pertinent drama that has major issues.

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Written and directed by Fran Kranz — in his directorial debut no less — 2021's  Mass   centers on an uncomfortably tragic premise: parents meeting face-to-face years after a tragic event irrevocably shattered their lives. One set of parents lost their son in a school shooting incident. The other two are the parents of the shooter.  Mass   may not be an enjoyable experience, nor will it likely be remembered as a culturally significant film; yet, one leaves the movie with the overwhelming feeling that it is important viewing.

Mass  stars Reed Birney and Ann Dowd as Richard and Linda, and Jason Isaacs and Martha Plimpton as Jay and Gail Perry. The majority of the feature's runtime is focused on these four characters, confronting each other in a prearranged meeting that unfolds in (what feels like) real-time. From the awkward small-talk to the inevitable emotional outbursts, the ebb and flow of the dialogue feels impossibly natural, putting the audience in the moment for compelling — but absolutely devastating — drama.

The leads' performances are the core of Mass , and the sheer talent on display in this film makes up for the sometimes weak direction. Each parent offers a distinct, fully realized character. Richard is a defensive workaholic, and there are hints that the shooting cost him his marriage to the sweet — if passive — Linda. Gail is still unspeakably angry at what happened, while her husband Jay has funneled all his frustration and hurt into gun-control activism. There's a bit of contrivance at play: the parents feel, at times, archetypal rather than organic, and this results in some of the movie's problematic dialogue. Overall, however, the meeting unfurls as one might imagine such an exchange would. The results are excruciating.

Birney, Dowd, Isaacs, and Plimpton are all in top form in  Mass , each offering complex characterizations of grief. The movie is at its best when the focus is on the parents reacting to each other. The dynamic is deeply uncomfortable at first, but the chemistry between the four is undeniable. There are many big moments — the four actors all get their own heavy, emotionally wrought monologues — but the quiet moments are equally as impressive. This is the kind of writing where what goes unsaid is as important as what's explicit, and much is communicated by looks, gestures, and silent pauses.

Mass  keeps the audience's attention by gradually revealing details of the shooting. Although there are occasionally exterior shots hinting at the events — particularly shots of ribbons tied to a fence, which is a nod to the Columbine High School massacre — Kranz makes the wise choice not to dramatize the tragedy. The movie is largely restricted to the often-claustrophobic room in the church, with the dramatic stakes coming solely from the emotional tension. Rather than a clunky exposition dump, the details of the event in question are revealed little by little, drawing in the audience's curiosity and keeping the narrative compelling. The approach to the material often feels like theater — which is as much a strength as it is a potential flaw.

Kranz's direction during the actual meeting is adequate, and the dialogue is strong — but the movie needs some revision. There are flashes of brilliance: for example, the long shots within the room, showing walls on either side, create a suffocating, restrictive mood that elevates the material. However, there is extraneous material that drags down the rest of the film. The entire opening sequence adds nothing to the narrative and could have been excised. The story begins with third-party Judy (Breeda Wool) setting up her church for the meeting, with the assistance of teenager Anthony. While the intention was likely to ease audiences into the story and to use Judy as a device to deliver exposition, there's little in that first ten minutes that's crucial for setting up the story, and including it does nothing but stall the narrative momentum out of the gate.

The other major issue with  Mass — which needs to be addressed — is its unfortunate perpetuation of myths and half-truths regarding the mental state and motivations of real-life mass murderers. The movie is progressive in how it sheds a light on the ways in which the parents of young violent criminals may be unfairly vilified following a massacre; however, the underlying message is that the shooter was mentally unstable, was bullied at school, and played violent video games. These are the same myths about the Columbine shooters that were widely shared following the tragedy but have been thoroughly disproven— particularly the influence of video games. Regardless,  Mass  is an emotionally harrowing film centered on a horrendous premise that — unfortunately — still remains pertinent today, over 20 years after Columbine. To Kranz's credit, the director manages to find some semblance of catharsis in the process, despite a few flaws and its utterly devastating premise.

Next:  The Auschwitz Report Review: A Deeply Effective & Intense Historical Drama

Mass  was released theatrically on October 8, 2021. It is rated PG-13 for thematic content and brief strong language and is 110 minutes long.

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‘Mass’ Review: Stages of Grief

Years after a school shooting, two couples meet to discuss their children — the one whose life was taken, and the one who took his life.

• Share full article

By Teo Bugbee

The couples at the heart of the chamber drama “Mass” have much in common. Each pair has two children, one living and one dead. And they share the same tragedy. Linda and Richard’s son, Hayden, killed Gail and Jay’s son, Evan, in a school shooting, before turning his gun on himself.

Years have passed, and now the couples have gathered in the back room of a church to discuss their children — the one who was taken, and the one who took. Gail (Martha Plimpton) and Jay (Jason Isaacs) initiated this meeting, and their goal is to uncover the facts that led to their child’s murder. Gail and Jay ask questions, and Linda (Ann Dowd) and Richard (Reed Birney) respond, recalling attempts to seek psychological help for their son, and the decisions that did not prevent his violence.

The writer and director Fran Kranz stages this congregation like a play. The actors are seated across from each other in a single room, and the camera work is minimal, alternating between close-ups. The dialogue limits the amount of knowledge the audience is given about how or why the central horror took place. This measured approach allows the feelings that flicker across the faces of the movie’s veteran cast to register not only as markers of marvelous acting — though there is plenty of that to spare — but as events with the power to propel the introspective plot.

The movie lacks the gut punch of live theater, the thrill or discomfort of watching people show their feelings in real time. But as cinema, it demonstrates the effectiveness of simplicity. A well-written script and an exemplary cast can still produce a movie worth watching.

Mass Rated PG-13 for references to violence. Running time: 1 hour 50 minutes. In theaters.

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Mass Reviews

Fran Kranz nailed it with his directorial debut by stripping back the filmmaking and focusing solely on the screenplay and the four brilliant actors he had in this single room.

Full Review | Mar 1, 2024

Yes, it is stagey. It is basically in one location. But the screenplay and simple camerawork draw you in and brings you into horrific pain.

Full Review | Feb 24, 2024

Particularly when individuals either find themselves or voluntarily choose to be separate from the rest of the family, character purposes and objectives present themselves. As in Mass, these purposes and objectives offer the key to achieving clarity.

Full Review | Oct 4, 2023

MASS is an ASTOUNDING, RAW, HEARTSHATTERING, & EMOTIONAL Movie. Incredibly written/directed by Kranz, but MASS is a performance driven movie. Isaacs & Birney are EXCELLENT.

Full Review | Jul 26, 2023

The cast drains every single ounce of emotion within the viewers, transforming a tiny little room with impactful mise-en-scène that tells its own story into an extremely tense, heart-wrenching, almost unbreathable environment.

Full Review | Original Score: A | Jul 24, 2023

All four members of the ensemble cast are stellar in their roles and the performances they deliver, with each one having at least one moment that will prove to you how incredible they all are.

Full Review | Jul 19, 2023

Playing out in virtual real time and essentially taking place in a single location, it may not look like much, but it’s an immersive, emotional watch that offers up an acting masterclass from a magnificent and well-cast quartet.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Dec 9, 2022

A catharsis of four cylinders that traverses torturous paths from which anger, impotence and sorrow try to find a way through, or at least, a little light. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Jun 8, 2022

... Places an almost sacred value on the cathartic power of dialogue. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 19, 2022

A powerful drama.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Apr 23, 2022

While engaging to watch because of the acting, Mass is a poorly constructed, exhausting look at the grieving process and the difficulty found in trying to move on from an unspeakable, unjust tragedy.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Apr 10, 2022

"At its most searing, 'Mass' suggests that talking your way through the thorniest thickets of tragedy wont be enough to find answers, and its to the first-time filmmakers credit that this comes across not as a lament, but as a place of clarity."

Full Review | Feb 21, 2022

Mass truly breaks any boundaries and is one of a few films that delve into another side of the story in this scenario. The film is a very powerful depiction of loss, forgiveness, and the coming together of two sides.

Full Review | Original Score: A | Feb 11, 2022

Out-of-the-box, superlative-and-superior...

Full Review | Feb 10, 2022

A fictional story that proves how open-hearted conversation can lead to healing, even after a terrible tragedy.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Feb 7, 2022

Unfolding like a play in real time with a limited cast and single setting, this contained drama is lifted by its remarkably realistic tone.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jan 27, 2022

Isaacs is especially good as a devastated father looking for answers to questions he doesn't know how to ask.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 27, 2022

Kranz's first film as a writer-director is nobody's idea of a fun night in, but sharp writing and four career-best performances make for a haunting and refreshingly grown-up drama.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 24, 2022

It may be a tough watch, but, boasting a quartet of excellent performances, Fran Kranz's directorial debut is a technically adept, emotionally exhausting yet deeply cathartic film that couldn't be more timely.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 22, 2022

While stories such as We Need To Talk about Kevin capitalised on the shock value of its horrifying events by playing with a non-linear narrative, Kranz's film doesn't feel the need for any extra artifice.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 21, 2022

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Aafca honors ‘fellow travelers’ & ‘little richard: i am everything’ during pride month, sundance review: fran kranz’s ‘mass’.

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In a highly impressive and explosive feature screenwriting and directing debut, Fran Kranz has crafted Mass   as an intense, involving, moving and thought-provoking chamber piece of a film that explores the way two different sets of parents deal with the emotional aftermath of a school shooting, years after it occurred. This stunningly well-acted piece, an acquisition title in the Sundance Film Festival ‘s Premieres section, could just as easily be a play as it essentially takes place on one set and is heavily dialogue-driven, yet Kranz skillfully skirts the pitfalls of staging a conversation between four people and makes it thrillingly cinematic on its own terms.

Of course, any work like this will ultimately live or die on the talents of its cast, and Kranz, an actor for most of his career, knows this and has cast his drama immaculately with four veteran actors who turn this into a gut-wrenching meeting that takes them, and us, on a roller coaster of emotions. Make no mistake, this is very tough and demanding material, probably as difficult to play as it is to watch, but the rewards on offer here are immense as all of this feels very raw and very real.

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The setting is a conference room at a local church. Jay ( Jason Isaacs ) and Gail ( Martha Plimpton ) arrive having come from out of town, exchanging niceties with a woman (Breeda Wool) who has apparently set up this meeting. They prepare to meet another couple, Richard ( Reed Birney ) and Linda ( Ann Dowd ), who live nearby and arrive just a little late but when they do Linda has brought along a plant as a bit of an offering which she gives to Gail. The reasons for the encounter between these two couples are not readily apparent, and Kranz’s script takes its sweet time in revealing plot points, but small talk about their individual families soon centers on their sons and we find out the real reason for this visit: a horrific school shooting that ended in great tragedy and loss for both families, but from different sides of the coin. Richard and Linda’s son was the disturbed shooter, Jay and Gail’s son one of his victims.

They share their sides of the event as awkwardness builds into tension, what happened long before still a stake in the heart for each — particularly Jay and Gail, who clearly still have not come to any sort of closure over the death of their son and hope this meeting will give it to them. The same can be said for Richard and Linda, dealing years later with the ramifications of what their son did and trying to come to terms with what it has done to the other families affected by it. The destruction of their lives caused by this unspeakable event is incalculable, but this is an attempt at healing, forgiveness, humanity.

Kranz first was inspired to write  Mass  while driving and hearing reports of the Parkland High School shooting in 2018. He had to pull to the side of the road, completely overtaken by what he was hearing. That plus what he remembered of Columbine years earlier, together with his knowledge of the nonprofit Forgiveness Project (an effort to bring disparate parties together), formed the bones of his screenplay. In such divisive times this is indeed difficult subject matter, but necessary. Its very execution is superbly restrained, with no attempt to jazz it up visually with flashbacks to the actual shooting or anything else except a few family photos Gail brings along to show should the opportunity arise. The dialogue feels completely authentic; nothing forced, no theatrical monologues that get in the way of truth here. Each actor has their moments, and all four deserve to be in any awards conversation once this film is released. This is an exceptional ensemble from Birney’s defensive posture to Isaacs’ slow-boiling angst, Plimpton’s emotional breakdown and Dowd’s tentative compassion. Wow. This is acting at its finest in a movie that will have you riveted.

Dylan Matlock, Casey Wilder Mott, and J.P. Oullette are producers along with Kranz.

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The aftermath of a school shooting hangs over the stagey but well-acted Mass

Four excellent actors carry this un-cinematic drama about a meeting of bereaved parents.

Is Mass the most un-cinematic movie of the year? Set largely in a single flat-looking room in the back of a church that could be anywhere in America, actor-turned-director Fran Kranz’s debut definitely isn’t much to look at. Two middle-class couples— Gail (Martha Plimpton) and Jay (Jason Isaacs), Linda (Ann Dowd) and Richard (Reed Birney)—have been brought together for a face-to-face meeting by a professional mediator; they spend most of the film sitting around a plastic table in ambient anonymity. The pacing is unhurried and more or less real-time. The dead air is tense and plentiful. At one point, something like 30 minutes passes without any of the characters getting up from their seat. In keeping with the theatricality, they talk or, more often, monologue—not so much about subjects as around them.

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There’s a fair amount to admire about the film, as the subjects Kranz has chosen for his first feature are ones that are, perversely, both delicate and heavy: grief, trauma, guilt. At the beginning, before either couple’s arrival, a couple of church volunteers, equal parts stagehands and chorus, set the scene. Will they need snacks? Probably not, but there’s a lot of them anyway. Where should the box of tissues go? Will the boy practicing piano upstairs be a distraction?

Awkwardness, missteps, and difficulties of communication establish the tone. The couples make their entrance, exchanging stilted greetings and stiff pleasantries. Linda has brought a vase of flowers that she arranged herself; one isn’t entirely sure whether this is a meaningful gesture or a faux pas. References are made to a past lawsuit, some possibly defamatory public statements on Jay’s part, letters sent by Gail, and the number years that have passed. The advice of therapists and counselors is quoted. Gradually, Mass reveals the backstory: a school shooting in which Linda and Richard’s teenage son, Hayden, killed 10 students before committing suicide in the library. Jay and Gail’s son, Evan, was among the victims. That the boys didn’t know each other only adds to the apparent meaninglessness.

It’s a credit to Kranz’s screenplay that Mass doesn’t immediately devolve into shouting. Though Jay and Gail have spent years blaming Richard and Linda for their son’s death, it’s clear that they wouldn’t be here if they didn’t want to forgive them. Nonetheless, Jay (who’s become an anti-gun activist) does eventually launch into a litany of possible causes: America’s culture of violence and gun worship; online alienation and radicalization; psychopathy. Questions of parental obligation arise, too. Shouldn’t Linda and Richard have seen the obvious warning signs? Or isn’t it a parent’s duty to be the only one who doesn’t think their kid is a psycho?

The cast carries the film; Dowd, as Linda, is especially terrific. Yet the feeling that one is watching a latter-day teleplay is hard to shake: The unvisual, periodically clumsy direction never finds a way around the confined space or the ugly lighting. One can applaud Kranz’s restraint. Faced with long, talky scenes or limited locations, budding directors tend to go for amphetamine-addled performances, with actors pacing and gesticulating wildly. The body language here, however, is strictly realistic. But with every shot looking more or less the same, the result remains stifled and airless.

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Powerful, stage-like drama about impact of school shooting.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Amid difficult subject matter and complicated feel

Both sets of parents clearly loved their sons unco

The four main characters are White and seem to be

Detailed conversations about a student's bombing/s

Married couple embraces out of comfort, not romanc

One use of "f--king."

Discussion of Call of Duty and how violent it is.

Parents need to know that Mass is a play-like drama about the parents of a school-shooting perpetrator coming together with the parents of one of his victims for a reconciliation meeting. It ends up with all four parents (played by award-winning actors Jason Isaacs, Martha Plimpton, Ann Dowd, and Reed Birney)…

Positive Messages

Amid difficult subject matter and complicated feelings, the movie promotes communication, compassion, and empathy. Encourages people to talk openly about their losses and to try to heal by understanding and forgiving one another.

Positive Role Models

Both sets of parents clearly loved their sons unconditionally. They listen to one another, even when it's difficult, and they want to know more about their respective families and upbringings. Jay has dedicated himself to advocacy, and Gail seeks to move forward without making the shooting the focus of their lives.

Diverse Representations

The four main characters are White and seem to be middle class. One Black supporting character is briefly shown in the beginning and end. All characters are familiar with Christianity (given the setting) but don't necessarily identify as Christians.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

Detailed conversations about a student's bombing/shooting in a high school. Two fathers discuss the specifics of how various students died/were killed (including how their parents later saw the blood and the taped outlines of victims' bodies). A parent recalls a couple of times when their child's behavior was disturbing.

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Sex, Romance & Nudity

Married couple embraces out of comfort, not romance.

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Parents need to know.

Parents need to know that Mass is a play-like drama about the parents of a school-shooting perpetrator coming together with the parents of one of his victims for a reconciliation meeting. It ends up with all four parents (played by award-winning actors Jason Isaacs , Martha Plimpton , Ann Dowd, and Reed Birney ) making heartfelt, heartbreaking declarations and recollections. Expect frequent references to the mass shooting in both general and detailed ways -- like when the shooter's father describes every victim's fatal wounds, or when the other father talks about how hard his son tried to live before being shot in the neck. There's one use of the word "f--king." Families with teens who watch together will be able to discuss their thoughts about gun violence and laws, school shootings, mental health, and adolescent pscyhopathy. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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What's the Story?

MASS takes place in an Episcopalian church meeting room, where two couples are gathering for a reconciliation conversation. Although at first it's unclear how Jay ( Jason Isaacs ) and Gail ( Martha Plimpton ) are connected to Richard ( Reed Birney ) and Linda ( Ann Dowd ), it's eventually explained that Richard and Linda's son killed Jay and Gail's son in a school shooting (in which he also killed himself). What starts off as a polite conversation turns into a heated, painful rehashing of what-ifs, an exchanging of blame and apologies, a diagnosing of the deceased, and a plea for acknowledging the humanity of a perpetrator as well as his victims. All but a few scenes take place in the same room, where the couples tell stories, ask for unknowable explanations, and tearfully discuss the gruesome events that led them to this room.

Is It Any Good?

Fran Kranz's directorial debut is a single-set, stage-like showcase of two pairs of grieving parents having an unimaginably difficult conversation; the four stars all give riveting performances. Much more effective than the adaptation The Dinner (which also highlighted two sets of parents having a fraught conversation), Mass is at times reminiscent of the tense, unforgettable conversation between Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender) and Father Moran (Liam Cunningham) in Hunger , when there's more to the subtext than you see, and it's clear that the characters are having much more than an ordinary conversation. Unlike Hunger , Mass takes place almost completely in the church meeting room where both sets of parents attempt to have a healing discussion about the school shooting that ended up with both sons dead, one at the hands of the other. The only other people in the movie beyond the four main characters are two slightly nervous church employees setting up the room and Kendra (Michelle N. Carter), a no-nonsense woman who's arranging the scope and logistics of the meeting.

Watching the two sets of parents (it's implied, although never said explicitly, that Richard and Linda are no longer together) discuss their dead sons is powerful and poignant. Kranz, who wrote the script, isn't interested in the politics of school shootings (which are hinted at but never explored) like gun control (Richard and Linda never owned firearms; their son stole them from his best friend), but in the feelings and the motivation behind the act. Gail wants Richard and Linda to pinpoint exactly when their son started to have homicidal thoughts. Linda wants Gail to allow her to discuss memories of her son, because despite what he did, she still loves him and remembers special times with her little boy. Richard is alternately aloof and straightforward, and Jay, it's revealed, wonders whether anyone or anything could stop a school shooting if the shooter is a psychopath. The movie doesn't offer any easy answers, instead immersing audiences in the visceral pain the parents are experiencing. It's a thought-provoking and brilliantly acted film that feels like a stage play turned into a movie.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the discussion of violence in Mass . Does describing gun violence have as much of an impact as seeing it occur in a movie? Is it disturbing to see distraught parents discuss their children's traumatic and violent deaths?

What are the movie's lessons? Do you consider any of the characters role models ? What character strengths do they display?

Do you agree that parents have a special intuition that should allow them to know, deep down in their hearts, if their children are violent or frightening or depressed? Teens: How can you ask for help if you or a friend is experiencing suicidal ideation or homicidal thoughts?

Discuss whether perpetrators should be allowed to be memorialized along with their victims. What are the reasons this is rarely done?

Both sets of parents discuss the violent video games that Hayden had played. Hayden's parents thought it was a way for him to socialize with others online and didn't think the games were problematic. Does exposure to violent movies or video games make kids more aggressive?

Movie Details

• In theaters : October 8, 2021
• On DVD or streaming : January 11, 2022
• Cast : Ann Dowd , Jason Isaacs , Martha Plimpton , Reed Birney
• Director : Fran Kranz
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Bleecker Street
• Genre : Drama
• Topics : Activism , High School
• Character Strengths : Communication , Compassion , Empathy
• Run time : 110 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : thematic content and brief strong language
• Last updated : June 20, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Review: Mass

Image: ©Sky Cinema

Recently added to Sky/NOW in the UK is the US drama film, Mass . The movie – written and directed by Fran Kranz – stars Jason Isaacs, Martha Plimpton, Ann Dowd, and Reed Birney, and tells the story of two sets of parents coming to terms with the deaths of their children.

In the movie, it has been six years since a high school shooting took place which killed multiple students. Trying to come to terms with the incident, as well as their own unimaginable loss, the parents of two children agree to meet in a mutual space to talk.

One set of parents – Jay and Gail – are grieving the loss of their son, Evan, who was a victim in the shooting. The other set of parents – Richard and Linda – are trying to come to terms with the loss of their child, Hayden, who was the perpetrator.

As the two families come together in the back room of a church, conversations are had about the fateful day, along with discussions about the events that took place in the aftermath. The families hope that by meeting they can find some answers to their questions, but they soon learn that some of those answers may be out of reach.

Before delving into Mass , I should make it clear this is a tough movie to watch. It is tough because it is a film inspired by true-life events.

The film is not centred around one specific incident, so it is not based on an actual case, but rather around a number of school shootings which have taken place in recent years. It uses the general conversation about tragic incidents and weapons being used in schools, to form the backdrop of the picture.

At no point does the movie show an incident, nor does it include any footage of the children who are at the centre of the story. Instead, it largely focuses on the parents, who come together to discuss what happened.

During the course of their conversation, the characters describe the incident in detail, to provide a greater understanding of what took place. As such, those who might find a discussion of this nature unsettling, or who have experienced tragedy, may find this difficult to watch.

But if you do feel Mass is something you are comfortable with, this is an incredibly powerful picture. It is a movie which takes an intimate portrayal of grief and loss, to tap into a wider conversation, and it handles its subject matter with the upmost respect.

There are a number of reasons as to why Mass is so impactful, and it is not just because of the subject being discussed. However, let me address this first, as it is something which is very important for the movie.

The topic of school shootings is one which is very emotive and sadly, ever-present. Finding a way to speak about the subject is difficult, because once the tragedy has been addressed, it can be easy for the conversation to slip into the ‘whys’ and ‘hows’ of the incident.

This then causes the topic of gun control to arise, and this topic often divides opinion. And once opinions are split, further discussions often stall as opposing sides refuse to budge on their beliefs.

Mass does touch upon some of the ‘whys’ and ‘hows’, and ever-so briefly moves into the realm of gun control and ownership, but this movie is not about these topics. At its core, this film is about people expressing their feelings about their children, while pouring out their anger and sadness over their loss.

This film isn’t about one side of the story, it is about exploring feelings and experiences from two different angles. It asks the question: How do both families come to terms with what’s happened, when neither parent pulled the trigger?

The reasons as to why tragic incidents take place, or what the country is doing about such tragedies, is incredibly important, but this film wants to exist just below all that noise, to offer a frank, open, and honest line of dialogue about the pain. There are no answers here, and there is no resolution – there is only exploration and words.

By having a discussion which is contained to personal accounts, the film is able to maintain its focus. And by doing this, it gets to the crux of the conversation, without getting lost along the way.

The next reason as to why Mass works so well is because of the setting – almost the entire film takes place in one room, and with just the four core characters. By making the environment intimate, and by removing all distractions, the film has no place to go other than into a deep conversation.

It is a simple storytelling technique, but one which is incredibly effective. The room acts as a place in which anything can be said, no topic is out of bounds, and so long as the families are here, they have the opportunity to speak their minds.

It is a controlled environment, but one which is private. And it is in this privacy that both families are able to conduct open dialogue, which in turn brings so much to the surface.

Writer/director Fran Kranz has looked at this story on paper and has looked at it behind the camera, and has found a way to ensure every moment counts, and a large part of this is because of the setting. Had this film taken place in a different environment, then I would argue it would not work so well.

The final reason why Mass is as good as it is, is down to the casting. With such a small ensemble, it is important for all of the players to be at the top of their game, and that’s exactly what you get with the four leads.

Every actor in this film is superb, so it is difficult to signal anyone out. However, Ann Dowd and Martha Plimpton are so moving in their portrayal as grief-stricken mothers, that I have to highlight their performances.

Not only do these actors convey their feelings through their words, but also through their expressions and through their movements. No gesture is wasted, no look is lost – everything they bring to their respective characters is incredible.

The pain is etched in every fibre of their being. This is smart casting.

I’m not going to tell you to rush to see Mass , as I feel you will gravitate toward it when you are ready, but please do watch it. What you will find is a compelling, impressive picture, which brings so much to the table.

As previously mentioned, there are no answers to the conversations in this film, but there is plenty of dialogue and that is often the best starting point. Mass isn’t attempting to be the beginning or the end when it comes to tragedy and grief, merely an important stepping stone along the way.

I’ll reiterate what I said earlier, this is an incredibly powerful picture. Do see it, when you can.

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The parents of both the shooter and one of the victims of a school shooting tragedy agree to meet and talk in an attempt to move forward. The parents of both the shooter and one of the victims of a school shooting tragedy agree to meet and talk in an attempt to move forward. The parents of both the shooter and one of the victims of a school shooting tragedy agree to meet and talk in an attempt to move forward.

• Jason Isaacs
• Martha Plimpton
• 165 User reviews
• 146 Critic reviews
• 81 Metascore
• 46 wins & 86 nominations total

• Piano Teacher
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• Trivia Filmed in 14 days, 4 of which were for exterior shots.

Kendra : Well, I'm grateful to see you all together finally. May I say that. And I'm hopeful that we all think that this was a good thing to do by the time we leave here today.

• Connections Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Best Movies of 2021 (2021)
• Soundtracks Blest Be the Tie That Binds Written by John Fawcett and Hans Georg Negeli Performed Dallas Christian Adult Concert Choir Courtesy of Dallas Christian Sound Inc.

User reviews 165

• Aug 17, 2022
• How long is Mass? Powered by Alexa
• October 15, 2021 (Canada)
• United States
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• Sun Valley, Idaho, USA
• 7 Eccles Street
• 5B Productions
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• Oct 10, 2021

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• Runtime 1 hour 51 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, midnight mass.

Mike Flanagan ’s “Midnight Mass” sees the talented writer/director move from adapting Stephen King to crafting a project that feels so distinctly like one of the horror master’s works that even fans will wonder how they missed its book release. With elements of The Stand , The Shining , and Salem’s Lot , Flanagan’s study of religion and immortality sometimes rekindles memories of actual midnight masses in that it can be a little exhausting in its preachiness with a few too many monologues. While there are some excellent performances and engaging themes, it also turns out that Flanagan, when untethered from the plot of source material like The Haunting or Doctor Sleep,  can get a little too wordy and repetitive for his own good. If this were a King novel, it would be one of those 900-page behemoths that often goes unfinished by readers, and those who did barrel through it would admire the ambition of the authorial effort while also wondering if an editor might have helped.

Again like a lot of sermons of my youth, “Midnight Mass” is abundant with connected themes and overt symbolism. Flanagan is playing with the darker side of religious scripture, connecting things like resurrection and drinking blood to a different kind of mythology. After all, horror and religion have a lot in common, often serving up similar themes of morality and vanquishing of evil, only in different cloth. Some of Flanagan’s most ambitious elements here play with the idea that The Bible truly is a horror story, while also weaving very King-like themes into the fabric, primarily the conflict between human responsibility and the thinking that belief can wash away all sin.

The vast majority of “Midnight Mass” takes place on a rundown island fishing community called Crockett Island. Actually, most of it takes place in the decrepit church, St. Patrick’s, which is newly led by a young charmer named Father Paul (a truly fantastic Hamish Linklater , whose work here almost justifies a look on its own), a charismatic leader who has been sent to replace a man named Monsignor Pruitt. Coinciding with Father Paul’s arrival is the return of the island’s prodigal son, Riley ( Zach Gilford ), who has been in prison for four years after a drunk driving accident that killed a woman. In a very “The Haunting of Hill House” manner, Riley is even directly haunted by his victim, amplifying his need for some kind of redemption. The sinner and the savior coming to Crockett Island at the same time feels like fate.

While Riley and Paul are the center of “Midnight Mass,” Flanagan fills out the community with memorable characters, most of whom have suffered the kind of loss that brings them to a church for guidance, including grief that pushes them to seek a higher purpose in the world. Riley’s parents Annie ( Kristin Lehman ) and Ed ( Henry Thomas ) are St. Patrick’s regulars, but his old friend Erin ( Kate Siegel ) has some more questions about the purpose of faith given her dark past. The strident Bev Keane ( Samantha Sloyan ) is the kind of committed soul who will follow religious figures down any dark path in the name of God, while a small cadre of non-believers cast a skeptical eye at what’s going down under the cross in the middle of the night, including a doctor ( Annabeth Gish ) with an ailing mother ( Alex Essoe ), the new sheriff ( Rahul Kohli ) in town, and a local drunk ( Robert Longstreet ) with, wait for it, a dark past.

If you’re wondering how the 29-year-old Essoe plays the mother of Annabeth Gish, you should be warned about some truly dicey old-person make-up that’s kinda necessary for the plot while also a bit misguided. Without spoiling anything, it will be clear pretty early why younger performers like Thomas and Essoe are playing roles beyond their years, but it’s never anything less than distracting. In fact, the effects of “Midnight Mass” are generally inferior to both “Haunting” projects. This show is not heavy on them, so it’s a minor complaint, but when it does explode into horror action, it turns into more of a B-movie production than either “Haunting.” Without spoiling, Flanagan has always worked better with shadows in the dark than when he has to reveal them.

It’s also, believe it or not, talkier than both “Haunting” projects. Riley may be relatively stoic, but people sure do love talking to him, particularly Father Paul and Erin, both of whom get long speeches about religion, God, alcoholism, addiction, the afterlife, and much more. This is a monologue-heavy show, which could throw off people looking for shivers. That’s not Flanagan’s game here—he’s more interested in philosophy and faith than he has been before, directly asking questions about morality and sin. Most of the lengthy conversations are well-scripted, engaging enough in their dialogue, but they also drain a lot of the momentum from the piece, especially after a major revelation mid-season then leads to a couple of episodes of intense discussion when viewers are going to be looking for the bloody stuff.

What is the opposite of a miracle? Why do some of the faithful get blessings in their life while others face only torment? These are deep, complex themes for a Netflix Original series, and it’s a credit to their deal with Flanagan that something this complex exists. And yet I come back to that King comparison. Even though I’m a huge fan, I can admit that his themes and concepts sometimes overwhelm his plotting. He’s prone to tangents that don’t serve the greater purpose and has a habit of underlining his ideas instead of trusting readers to unpack them. And yet he’s still such a consistently entertaining craftsman (strongly recommend his recent Later and Billy Summers , two of his better late-career offerings, by the way) that fans can easily forgive his tendency for abundance and overcooking. Perhaps the greatest compliment I can pay Flanagan and “Midnight Mass” is that all of those feelings I’ve had about King’s work over the last four decades consistently hold true for him too. While I can see the flaws in this overheated homily, there’s nothing that's going to stop me from coming back to the Church of Flanagan the next time that the doors open.

Whole series screened for review . 

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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