Mass is a very challenging drama that’s timely in its scope, but intensely controversial and delicate as a subject matter in the US.

In the UK, guns have been banned since 1997 as an aftermath of the awful Dunblane Massacre of 1996 in Scotland. There have been no school shootings since the ban.

This late 2021 production, written and directed by Fran Kranz, follows the debate between two couples after a fictional US school shooting. The result is an onslaught of emotional viewing, but it’s handled perfectly and features excellent performances.

Cathartic Rage and Confrontation in Mass

The set up for the film is the meeting between Jay and Gail (Jason Isaacs and Martha Plimpton) with Richard and Linda (Reed Birney and Ann Dowd).

Jay and Gail’s son was killed during a high school shooting, whilst the other couple’s son (Hayden) was the perpetrator. He also shot himself after the event (painfully familiar as a script).

Six years on they’ve agreed to meet and discuss the matter. The hope being it’ll have a cathartic release.

They meet at an Episcopal Church and begin their conversation with the standard pleasantries and small talk.

As the narrative progresses, the subject matter turns to the shooting and gradually ramps up to become more and more intense.

As you’d expect, there’s a long discussion on Hayden’s state of mind and mental health history. And whether his parents should have spotted what was about to happen.

Jay and Gail pry about this in search of answers, but Richard in particular remains overly professional (like he’s in a difficult business meeting) and unwilling to engage certain aspects.

As you watch the film it becomes apparent the meeting is, in part, to let out their anger and grief. The shouting, the accusations, and the breakdowns that develop—it’s therapy. It’s a chance to offload on each other.

This seems to work for Jay, Gail, and Ann. Although Richard remains aloof and stoic throughout (other than with one momentary breakdown), leaving earlier than the others to attend a business meeting.

It’s a simple setting for a film as in Mass the four characters are barely outside of one plain room for 110 minutes.

Yet Kranz’s script deftly takes viewers across a pertinent political landscape and the real outcome of these continuous shootings. Long-term grief with nothing being done to address the issue, ensuring a cyclical process of suffering.

That Mass has been made seems extremely daring, given the highly aggressive response from the pro-gun lobby to this issue.

It’s a modern classic, we’d say, with world-class performances and a script that’s very moving. And it shows how cinema can help us comprehend these unthinkable tragedies.

The Production of Mass

The film’s budget was only $300,000 and it had a limited box office run. This means its intake was only $250,513.

It seems to only have run in the US with a very limited release, only playing in two cinemas in New York and two in Los Angeles. As far as we’re aware, those are the only cinemas it ran in.

However, it also played at various film festivals. That included the 2021 Sundance Film Festival amongst others, including ones in London and Zurich.

Sky Cinema acquired the rights in September 2021 and it’s since had its distribution across the UK, but it does make watching the film difficult for many. You need to sign up to Sky and buy or rent it. You won’t find it on YouTube Films, Amazon, or Netflix as a rental option.

As you might expect, the production was brief.

It took 10 days to film all the internal dialogue scenes, with four days required for some external shots. This is also Fran Kranz’s directorial debut.

Mass was nominated for many independent film awards, including at the San Sebastián International Film Festival, Florida Film Critics Circle Awards, and Independent Spirit Awards.

It was critically acclaimed worldwide and praised for handling such a difficult subject matter intelligently.

Despite that, we feel it’s since fallen into obscurity somewhat.

We encourage anyone interested to go and watch it as it’s an excellent film, even if it’s one you’ll only likely watch once.