Mass: Film Review
I have heard nothing but rave reviews for Fran Kranz‘s directorial debut Mass for months and now I’ve seen it I can completely understand why. The hype gave me high expectations and the film easily surpassed them.
The majority of the drama takes place in the back room of a church. Two sets of parents – Gail and Jay (Martha Plimpton and Jason Isaacs) and Linda and Richard (Ann Dowd and Reed Birney) – meet up to have a painful and raw conversation about an unspeakable tragedy that involved their two late sons years before.
Wow, what an acting tour-du-force this is! I’m actually shocked I haven’t heard these names come up this awards season because all four of the actors are spectacular. They all deliver emotional, gut-wrenching and heartbreaking performances and they’re so convincing as their characters that you almost forget you’re watching actors.
A single location film that is essentially just one long conversation sounds quite boring but I can assure you that Mass is not. With all the bells and whistles out of play, only the script and actors remain, so they have to be top-notch and thankfully they are. Each character is so well-defined, written and inhabited and the script is riveting. The reasons for the parents meeting isn’t revealed for a long time and that mystery initially hooks you in as you want an explanation for the palpable tension in the room. By the time it’s eventually revealed, you’re fully invested and gripped by the back-and-forth between them.
I liked how each of the characters brought something new to the table. Linda is emotional, compassionate and tries to tread carefully while her ex-husband Richard is more defensive, matter-of-fact and acts almost like a standoffish lawyer, but this is clearly a defence mechanism. Gail enters the room brimming with so much anger and pent-up resentment that she can barely speak and Jay calms her down, reminding her that it should be a diplomatic talk rather than an interrogation. But as soon as emotions start running high, their roles are reversed and he’s the one flipping out and she has to reign him in. It was really interesting to see how they have all dealt with their grief differently.
Both sides are given a roughly equal split of the conservation and all four actors are given a moment where they really shine. They are all astonishing throughout but I was particularly blown away by Plimpton and Dowd as I just felt for their characters more.
Mass is a fairly bleak watch that deals with heavy themes so it won’t appeal to everybody but I can assure you that you won’t be disappointed watching these brilliant actors bringing Kranz’s excellent script to life.
On Sky Cinema from Thursday 20th January