curlyalicia at the movies: Mass (2021)

 Hello all!

I'm going to do a curlyalicia at the movies post today!

TW: mental health, suicide, school shootings

Today is Mass. Mass stars Ann Dowd, Jason Issacs, Martha Plimpton. I saw the trailer shortly before going to see it with my cousin. There weren't a lot of people at the showing and it was in what we call a flat theatre which is the smallest auditorium in the big theatre complex in our city.

Mass is one of the best movies I have ever seen. It is poignant, it is raw, it is visceral. I don't want to spoil it too much but Mass is a sit-down and conversation between two families who have both lost their son. If you watch the trailer it's not really a spoiler but one of the sons committed a mass shooting at a school (hence the title of the movie!) and killed the son of the other family. The family whose son committed the shooting of course ended his life but the movie is very good. It's not for people though who are very sensitive to this kind of thing though. It opens a whole discussion about mental health. 

Starting out the movie is a little annoying because everyone in the movie including an annoying redhead woman working at the church where they have the sit down talk, (my cousin says she was for lightening the heavy tone of the movie) are obsessing over everything's placement in the room. My cousin says the room had to be perfect for the heavy weight of the conversation was to take place. There are a lot of themes that are explored. Like, for example, the room placement and when the husbands talk more at first without letting their wives talk, and even the topic of what the son who committed the shooting was like prior, indicates about control. Not necessarily abusive control, but just trying to have things perfect. It's a great nuance to be a commentary on who was in control, what we can control and what we cannot, whether it be in grieving their children, and esp. the circumstances about the shooting. The movie explores who is to blame, who blames themselves, the weight of losing your child esp. due to tragic circumstances. I have lost a sibling to tragic circumstances and the movie rang true for myself as well as my cousin. The performances are stunning. I think it will get clout at the awards, esp. the Oscars.

If you think you are brave enough to watch a heavy movie like Mass, it's definitely worth a watch!

curlyalicia