Review: Mass

The amount of buzz this film was going in America had me constantly on watch for when this would be accessible for me to check out.

So I was disappointed to see that it ended up being distributed straight to on-demand rather than in cinemas. That being said, I remained excited to see why this was getting praise to a level of it being many people's favourite film of 2021.

From the very beginning, you can feel that something bad has happened or about to happen. The tension in the characters gives you a real sense of tension and intrigue as to what it could be.

Then once the details start to gradually become known to the audience, it becomes quite a gripping and emotional watch.

What I liked about it the most was the simplicity of the set-up. The strength of the content was through the characters, the dialogue and nothing more. It still amazes me that films like this can do that and still be as enjoyable if not more than a film that has a blockbuster type of budget.

The cast may be small in numbers, but the quality remains strong. Jason Isaacs carried great emotional weight in this and his energy worked well at the right times. Ann Dowd continues to show how much of a on-screen presence she can be and in this one she gives us a very relatable character that I'm sure at least one of us have encountered.

Martha Plimpton impressed me. Especially when I don't recall ever seeing her since Parenthood. Reed Birney certainly played his role well despite it being unlikable and yet relatable.

My only drawback towards it due to personal feelings. I can see why this has been heavily praised in America due to the relatable subject matter. While I agree it raises serious topics that need to be covered in any form, watching it just made me angry of how certain parts of the world allow this to happen. So while I most definitely appreciated the craft of the film, I found it hard to be completely moved by the story.

That being said, this is a very impressive piece of work. There's nothing flashy about it, it has a simple and effective idea and all it needed was four talented actors to make the script grip you.

As directing debuts go, this is a pretty impressive one. It is directed by Fran Kranz, who after reading up on him had me in complete shock as to where I know him from. If you have seen a particular modern comedy horror classic, you will be amazed as to Kranz is. 

So props to director Kranz and his team for giving a very impactful project that I can see effect many people's emotions.

Rating: 8/10