Mass – Cinema Journal

The Heartbreaking Mass is a classic conversation film. The kind of movie that grabs you in minutes with words and great acting and won’t let you go for a second.

Few terms sound as silly or easygoing on paper as the term “talk movie.” Put a few actors in the same room and ask them to act out a scenario. very easy, yet? On the paper has Mass all the characteristics of a classic talk-movie. The cast is fairly minimal, with four lead actors and a few minor supporting roles, the film takes place almost exclusively in one location, and the budget was under $300,000.

always feels Mass much bigger and more overwhelming. Among the many words spoken in this film is a deep tragedy, full of painstakingly healed wounds. We spend most of the film in a barren back room of a dingy church somewhere in an unnamed location in America. At the beginning of the film, a volunteer sets up chairs and a table. In addition, everything in this room should be “neutral”. Any form of cheerfulness or sociability could potentially distract those present. Clearly, something big and painful is about to happen here.

Moments later, we see two couples enter (Jason Isaacs and Martha Plimpton; Ann Dowd and Reed Birney), who are escorted into the room by a lawyer. Is it mediation? A neighborhood conflict that must be fought in a neutral place? No, the tragedy that these four people carry with them is much greater. Giving exactly what the conversation is about would be a shame, but it’s clear that a heartbreaking incident has taken place involving the two couples’ sons. One of them is an aggressor, the other a victim. But how does this apply to parents?

Director and screenwriter Fran Kranz plays a clever game with the viewer in his first film, revealing the event later in the film and not automatically placing sympathy with the victim’s parents. This creates a fascinating play on words and emotions, in which the four protagonists must look deep into their own souls. The actors all do it very well, although Ann Dowd’s portrayal is most memorable. In an ideal world, she would have won an Oscar for this beautiful role.

What an overwhelming visual experience Mass. It may not be a pleasant outing for a Saturday night, but it’s a film that will haunt the tear ducts and the head for a long time to come. A “simple conversation movie” can also achieve this.