Darlings, I Finally Saw "Mass!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                      I first began hearing about this film late Summer, early Fall, when it was the hit of the film festival circuit.  The name of Martha Plimpton stuck out for me, as I would see her in anything.

                                        Inevitably, by October, "Mass" reached New York, on the independent circuit, landing at the Angelika, which even in the best times I dislike.  But, with Covid, I was not about to venture into the city for a movie, no matter how badly I wanted to see it.  And I sure as hell knew this film would not play my neighborhood theater, the Alpine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                          I watched and waited.  And finally, I was rewarded.  The other night David told me "Mass" was on Pay-Per-View, and did I want to watch it?  Of course!  It was quite an experience.

                                           On one level, "Mass" is so simple; it is "God Of Carnage" taken to a higher level.  In that play, (and its later film version, simply titled "Carnage") two set of parents meet and hash out what happened involving a fight between their boys, at school.  The stakes are higher with "Mass." Richard (Reed Birney) and Linda (Ann Dowd) are the parents of a boy who, six years before, shot Evan, the son of Gayle and Jay Perry (Martha Plimpton and Jason Isaacs.  Apparently, the couples had been exchanging letters, some explosive, some compassionate.  With the aid of a grief counselor named Kendera, both have agreed to meet in a church room setting.  table and chairs, to talk things over.

                                              And that is "Mass."  But not quite.  For while the script is very well written, keep an eye on the actors--how they move, talk, position their bodies. At some times, Reed Birney is so reserved he seems to emanate hostility, which I thought would boil over.  Same with Martha Plimpton; her first appearance on screen is of a woman wanting to be anyplace but here, and I was sure at some point she would go histrionic.  Both things could have happened, but it would have simplified "Mass," which gets down to the inexplicability of their mutual tragedy, whom can they or not blame it on, and most importantly, why.  It is a hard film to get through because the actors are so good, and because the issues got under my skin on a level unseen since "Brokeback Mountain."  And, no, the boys are not homosexual.

                                                I have heard Oscar buzz for Martha Plimpton, and even more for Ann Dowd.  They are richly deserving of the honor, but so are Birney and Isaacs; without the other, the women could not play off of each other so well.  Fran Kranz, in his first feature, does a near faultless job.  But then, "Mass is for more discriminating viewers who want to be made to think about the issues at large.

                                                   Does it offer any answers?  See the film through, and then tell me!!!!!!!!