by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
When I was in seventh grade, I was in a Student Council meeting taking care of elections for the next year’s executive board. We were tallying votes when a teacher was instructed to turn the TV on. I didn’t really think much of it because I was busy calculating votes. Our advisor looked very concerned, and she eventually started breaking down in tears, having to leave the classroom. I noticed all the other students were now watching the TV, so I eventually turned to see a large group of students running out of a school along with police responding to the scene. Eventually, I came to realize that I was watching what was unfolding at Columbine High School during their school shooting. School was never the same after that, because then we started doing drills and having code words for an active shooter.
The Fallout follows a group of high schoolers dealing with the aftermath of an active shooter in their school. The main three people we follow are Vada (Jenna Ortega), Mia (Maddie Ziegler), and Quinton (Niles Fitch) as we see how their lives are changed forever after such a traumatic event.
Right off the bat, trigger warnings abound. It’s not an easy watch, especially the first five minutes of the movie. It was a moment that happened so incredibly fast, and then it was done, setting the stage to deal with everything that happens after an event like this.
The Fallout shines brightest with the performances and the messages it tries to convey. It doesn’t always successfully convey the messages, but it’s earnest enough to swing for the fences at least. I found the young leads to be incredibly moving as they wade through the varying emotions that come with processing trauma. Special shout out to Ortega for carrying the emotional load as Vada. As the main character and our eyes during the whole film, we see Ortega’s ups and downs emotionally and mentally as she tries to process everything going on around her. We also see the effects that it has on her family. Each family member represents different ways for someone to react to someone who is going through trauma. Her dad, mom, and sister all have different approaches on how to help Vada cope. Her relationship with her sister Amelia (Lumi Pollack) in particular is a highlight, especially a moment towards the end where they actually have a conversation about their feelings.
Speaking of processing, I really liked how The Fallout showcases the different ways people cope with trauma. Each character processes their experience differently. Each character has a different background and this experience affects them in different ways; so thankfully, the script and story call for different reactions. I was afraid that everyone would have the exact same journey for recovery, but that wasn’t the case. Mia’s an influencer, and her experience is different from Quinton’s, who has direct implications for the shooting. Vada’s friend Nick (played by Will Ropp) turns to activism and tries to prevent something like this from happening again. Vada herself goes through a wide range of emotions and attempts a wide array of different coping strategies. Some are effective, some are destructive, but that’s part of the ebbs and flows of recovery from trauma. Particularly for teenagers, an event has short- and long-term effects that can alter the trajectory that someone is on forever.
The Fallout raises some deep questions to ponder. I liked the messaging of survivor’s guilt and trying to reason why the shooting exactly happened and how pointless of an exercise that can be. Survivor’s guilt comes up a handful of times — the characters question why they survived and others didn’t. The shooting scene is very subtle and we don’t see any of the actual event (thankfully), so we don’t actually know how many people died or what happened to the assailant. We actually don’t dive into the assailant’s side at all, which I thought was a smart decision in this case because it wouldn’t have brought any further resolution for the three students we’re watching. Reasoning through a traumatic event can be beneficial to some, but at the end of the day, nothing can be changed about what happened. Vada, Mia, and Quinton all eventually have to deal with recovery and eventually moving on.
The main thing I liked about The Fallout is the notion order beneath the chaos and music beneath the noise. There’s some good that comes about from these situations as well, even if we’re unwilling to see it. Friendships were created even though it was under horrible circumstances. The Fallout doesn’t dive into whether or not Vada, Mia, and Quinton would have been friends had it not been for the shooting, nor does it go into whether or not they even knew each other at all prior. Often, to focus exclusively on how the bad of a situation comes top of mind. However, seeing what good came about from it can also be therapeutic. I bought into all these friendships, particularly how they help each other out.
I’m not going to lie, the end gutted me a little. It goes to show how far recovery needs to go for violence in schools and how anything can be a trigger for someone emotionally. We see this with Vada going back to school for the first time since the incident. She’s fidgety, she clearly doesn’t want to be there, and she feels scared because of the changes that the school has to make in the name of safety. There’s one scene in particular where Vada is walking out of the school and hears a loud noise, which is triggering, but it goes to show how triggers can happen when you least expect it.
Shailene Woodley plays Anne, Vada’s therapist. I would have liked to see more of their interaction because that’s when the audience gets some of the heavier (and admittedly some of the funnier) moments. Watching Vada come to terms with how she’s feeling about it was difficult, but necessary viewing. I also really liked a scene where Vada and her dad go on a hike and Vada talks to him about how she’s feeling. The only real issue I had with both of these scenes is that there isn’t enough time on-screen between both pairs that I was left wanting more. The Fallout is a crisp and rare 92 minutes, so everything moves pretty fast. I would have liked to have seen more of this collection of people. We don’t really see anything about the shooting’s aftermath on the community, on the victims, on the assailant or their family, but that’s not the point of the film. It shows the aftermath for this specific group of characters but I did want to see more of it.
I liked The Fallout. It’s not easy to watch, but this is something important to watch nonetheless. Will you come walking away from this saying this will be an awards contender or cracking a top 100 list? Probably not. However, I felt the emotion from the performances and shout out to Megan Park, first time director, for nailing a compelling story, great characters, and messages that are timely and important.
Grade: B-
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