Mass

This is a deeply moving film that follows the lives of two sets of parents who meet up to discuss a tragedy that happened in the past that resulted in the death of both their son's.

What a brilliant film this is . Four great performances from actors who are that the top of their game.

The subject matter is painful. One set of parents son was shot dead in a school shooting and the other are the parents of the shooter .

They discuss with each other whether they could have prevented what happened and even if they are at fault .

The tension is obviously high and the emotions range from guilt to blame to forgiveness.

This definitely has the feel of a stage play as it's four people set in one ___location but that's definitely not a criticism.

I love the way the parents try their very best , after the small talk , to be civil under very extreme circumstances and obvious tensions boil over at times .

There are two scenes that I absolutely love . One is after all the discussion and emotion the four of them go back to small talk after obvious relief that the meeting is over and the other is when Linda comes back into the hall at the end to tell one last story .

That performance alone , from Ann Dowd deserves an award .

Absolutely stunning .

The sad conclusion I came to after watching Mass is that there are teenagers all over the world that have the same mental health issues as highlighted here but it's only in America that they have access to guns and until that's addressed ( which it never will be) there will continue to be these awful meetings .

Absolutely fantastic dialogue here but even better acting. Outstanding and I really don't know how even critics are forgetting to recgonize what was done here by these actors and actresses.

I've seen some people connecting this with the guns issue in the US, but I don't think this even touches seriously on that theme. Even if slighly too religious for my taste - a lot of subliminar and not so subliminar messages - this was stupendously well succeeded in exposing the different types and stages of grief, as well as the the difficulties to explain some happenings in our lives, being, above all, a faithful but also a scary portrait of what parenthood means.

7/10 - hard to watch and packed with the powerful performances (particularly Ann Dowd's), this debut film for writer/director Fran Kranz plays very much like something you would expect to see on the stage but I felt it was a little overlong at times.

Fran Kranz's 'Mass' is a breathtaking debut feature about grieving parents that will linger long after the movie is over. The four-person ensemble group delivers fascinating performances while conveying a nail-biting story. Honest, optimistic, and brave, it is profoundly compelling in both the intimacy of its dramatic scope and the universality of the subjects it addresses.

Two couples sit down together in a perfectly well prepared room, to discuss a tragedy that links the four people.

A masterclass in acting, no special effects, no big budget, just a talented group of actors, and a fantastic script.

It's a very powerful film, it does something that many forget to do, it gives you both sides of the coin, the impact on both parties, the obviously injured, and the silently injured. It makes for a very thought provoking watch.

Mass maybe slow to start, a little curious, you may, as I did, be scratching your head wondering what's happening, but after thirty minutes, you get the moment, the revelation, the reason for this inconvenience and awkward meeting.

Truths, revelations, consequences, anger, when this film hits, it hits hard.

I can't, and won't pick out a single performance, all were equally terrific, but it was great to see Jason Isaacs in a role like this, showing just how good he is.

Not one to watch if you're a little low, or having a bad day, as the content is pretty bleak, but I'd you're intent on watching some first rate acting, this is for you.

8/10.