Directing your first film is a hell of an undertaking, particularly for an actor by trade whose preparation for the gig mostly consisted of observing how the projects they've worked on are made. Megan Park-best known for her roles in the popular teen drama The Secret Life of the American Teenager and the indie romantic comedy What If?-decided to up the level of difficulty by also handling the writing duties and making a film about a group of teenagers dealing with the aftermath of a school shooting. To her credit, Park handles this tough task with a level of grace and skill that would be admirable for a veteran filmmaker, let alone a first-time feature director.
The most welcome element of The Fallout is how understated the storytelling is. By approaching things from a raw, human level, Park is able to focus on the psychological and social effects of the aftermath and avoid the contrived melodramatic trappings that many less capable filmmakers would've gladly embraced. The script takes into account that no two people are going to process the event the same way and why that's a natural, acceptable response to a traumatic situation while also making some really thoughtful observations about how the shocking horrors of the act itself and the public discourse that follows can effectively erase the memories of the people that lost their lives because of it and the parents of the survivors feel kind of helpless since they can't relate or fathom what their child is going through in that moment. School shooting films are practically guaranteed to become more prevalent in the future as people (especially in the United States) continue to grapple with these senseless tragedies on an alarmingly regular basis and I really hope that the bulk of them will approach the subject with a similar level of nuance and compassion as The Fallout does.
However, Park's handling of the subject proves to be a double-edged sword. Despite being a very conscious creative choice that mirrors the protagonist Veda's (Jenna Ortega-further bolstering her ascending stardom and impressive range with a haunting, uniquely commanding performance) emotional state, there's a certain numbness present in the scenes between the shooting sequence early in the film and the final moments where all of her suppressed feelings come rushing out in an explosion of profound sadness and grief that undercuts some of the story's potentially abundant emotional power.
Veda's response to the events is to effectively cut certain people off (her parents and younger sister-who are brilliantly portrayed by Julie Bowen, John Ortiz and Lumi Pollack respectively and best friend Nick- played by Will Ropp-who has become a David Hogg-like advocate for gun law reform in the weeks following the shooting) and developing deep, empathy-filled connections with the two people that she hid in a bathroom stall (Maddie Zeigler, Niles Fitch) with during the shooting. As easy as it to empathize and understand where Veda is coming from, this approach doesn't exactly make for the most emotionally resonant cinema. Whether it's through her interaction with others or solo moments of reflection, there's a heavy volume of scenes here that portray a feeling of distance and uncertainty that fail to capture the full burden of what Veda and her peers are going through. To be completely fair to Park, portraying the process of trying to comprehend such a brutally specific brand of trauma and grief by having someone behave in a cold, stoic fashion is the most authentic, respectful way to explore this topic-especially when it's being told through the eyes of someone who's in the middle of their formative years as a human being-that doesn't really have a feasible alternative. I'm going to have to revisit this at some point before year's end to see if having the complete knowledge of Park's approach going in causes it to become a more striking and powerful piece of work.
The Fallout marks a very rare instance where I honestly feel bad that a film didn't connect with me more. It's an intelligent, thoughtful film that was made with great care and respect about a subject matter that is incredibly difficult to tackle in such a way. And yet that same raw, realistic approach is what ends up limiting its emotional impact. Even if my muted yet admiration-filled response to the film doesn't change over time, The Fallout is something that people really need to see and hopefully they will head over to HBO Max to check it out very soon.
Grade: B
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