Two couples meet in a function room at a small town church. Jay and Gail are still grieving six years after their son was gunned down in a mass shooting at school. Linda and Richard are the parents of the boy who committed the atrocity and was also killed at the scene. They are all looking for reasons behind the events and some sort of closure.
Apart from the opening and closing few minutes, the events take place entirely in that room. Instead of making the film boring, it intensifies the story and raises the stakes. I, for one, was grateful that writer/director Fran Kranz chose not to show flashbacks to the shooting spree.
In Mass, the viewer’s sympathies are naturally with Jay and Gail, but as the plot unfolds, Linda and Richard’s desolation and confusion also come to light.
The performances are universally fantastic, especially Martha Plimpton as Gail and Jason Isaacs as her husband.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10