It’s shocking to me that Mass is Fran Kranz’s directorial debut. There is a reason that we have been talking about this film since the beginning of 2021 when Mass premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The performances are powerful, and the script is lush. The words on the page are an actor’s dream. Mass doesn’t give you easy answers, and Kranz deserves to be nominated for Best Original Screenplay.
Kranz recently became a father so his entire perspective of a school shooting changed. He became immersed in how these events take place and he decided to confront a tragedy head-on not by showing the violence but by deal with the emotional ripples that will never settle. His four actors–Martha Plimpton, Jason Isaacs, Reed Birney, and Ann Dowd–go above in beyond in trenching themselves in pain and grief but also forgiveness.
Seeking forgiveness is not something easy to incorporate into a script. Kranz embraces the messiness of this meeting, because no one will be able to prepare themselves for it. Kranz also has a respect for the space both as a director and an actor. How will these parents stay in this room where they can feel the four walls closing in on them and they have to push back?
Mass is a film that will stand the test of time, because of how honest it is.
Mass is available to rent now.
