Mass shootings seem to be becoming more and more common place in recent times, especially in America, and people are becoming desensitised to them. Back on 1 August 1966 though, an incident at the University of Texas at Austin, was truly shocking. A man, Charles Whitman, having earlier killed his wife and his mother, took an arsenal of guns to the observation tower at the university and started to fire indiscriminately at the people below. By the time a combination of police and one brave civilian stopped him, Whitman had killed 16 people and wounded 31 others.
Tower presents the events of the day using a mixture of archive footage and rotoscope animation. Actors are used to narrate testimony from the survivors over the animation. It is hard to imagine anyone watching this film without feeling a profound sense of sadness. The shattering of an ordinary summer’s day is devastatingly told and the bravery of the people who helped the victims, whilst putting themselves in danger, was remarkable. One woman almost breaks down when she admits that she couldn’t bring herself to assist, calling herself a coward, when, in fact, most of us would have carried on hiding like she did.
The film is as gripping as a good thriller, and as the events unfold, the matter-of-fact way the narrators tell the story just adds to the power. Director Keith Maitland shows a masterful touch towards the end of the film by including an archived opinion piece from the great Walter Cronkite over footage of similar shootings in recent years. That really packed a powerful emotional punch.
An extraordinary documentary.
Rating: 9.5 out of 10