Jenna Ortega as “Vada” and Maddie Ziegler as “Mia”. | Credit: Kristen Correll
The frequency with which mass shootings occur has painfully become something to be expected in the modern era. These terrible tragedies are given a spotlight for a few days or weeks, but there is always another one right around the corner to draw our focus. What happens to those who are left to reckon with what happened and put their lives back together following such a life-changing event? Director Megan Park’s fierce and heartbreaking directorial debut skillfully examines such questions that so many are left to grapple with too often. The film is one that does not pretend to know the answers, but wisely knows that these questions will not be disappearing anytime soon.
Vada (Jenna Ortega, The Babysitter: Killer Queen) is like any normal teenager. She is not the most popular girl in school, but she has her close friends, such as the care-free and silly Nick (Will Ropp, The Way Back). She enjoys a good Starbucks run before school and sharing funny videos. She is very smart, but not completely into giving school as much of her effort as she could. She is as “normal” as normal can be, but that will not prevent what is coming on this seemingly ordinary day. Vada finds herself outside of class in what begins as a moving act of sisterly compassion, but quickly turns into a nightmare as the distant sounds of gunshots start ringing through the hall. Being a child of the modern times, she knows the protocols to follow as she hunkers down in a bathroom – feet drawn up, of course – with social media famous Mia (Maddie Ziegler, Music) and soon after a blood-soaked Quinton (Niles Fitch, This Is Us). The perceived social hierarchy gives way to more important issues in the midst of an event such as this.
The depiction of the school shooting does not spring for being gratuitous, but it also does not shy away from the sheer intensity of the moment. The look of fear from the three young performers is one of the most affecting moments in the entire film. As per the usual, the media puts a spotlight on the event for a little while. Not much attention is given to the shooter or his motives, but it is also not his story. Not everyone perished in this massacre, and it is those who remain behind that have to figure out what their lives look like afterward.
For Vada, life looks a lot like curling up in her bed and isolating herself from the outside world as much as possible. Ortega delivers a heartbreaking and nuanced performance throughout that leaves her seeming like one of our next big stars. Her family wants to be around to support her, but who knows what to do after something like this? Everyone is walking around on eggshells around her; her mother (wonderfully inhabited by Julie Bowen) is grappling with some semblance of PTSD of her own as she obsessively checks to see if Vada is okay, while her little sister Amelia (Lumi Pollack) longs for the connection she used to have with Vada and begins acting out in increasingly attention-grabbing ways to get it. The only way to get her family to somewhat leave her be is to agree to see a therapist (Shailene Woodley), which offers a mixed-bag of success for Vada.
What Vada really needs is to be around someone who truly understands what she is going through. You might believe that person would be Nick, but his demeanor post-shooting is worlds apart from Vada. Nick is on a path to being one of the burgeoning social justice reform kids who you often see making noise so that such a tragedy will never happen again. It is her partner in tragedy Mia who becomes an unexpected respite from the world at large. The seemingly picturesque life of Mia with her opulent house and natural talent for dance (if you are going to use Sia’s protege, you might as well weave it into the story) is at odds with the emotional turmoil she is dealing with all alone. The way in which these two bond through tragedy and deal (and willfully avoid) their grief is one of the most rewarding aspects of the film. Maddie Ziegler delivers a staggering performance here that will hopefully more firmly establish her legacy outside of her association with the aforementioned pop hitmaker.
Director Megan Park gracefully constructs a world that will be instantly recognizable to the current youth generation, and will be quite the insight into the pain that is being felt for those who are a generation or two removed. Tiny touches like the growing collection of funeral pamphlets in a nightstand is a gutting reminder that there are real people behind these statistics. The depiction of the trauma that still lingers even long after everyone else has mostly moved on is an important reminder of how wide-reaching the impact of such an event is. The Fallout is a powerful story that unsparingly tackles one of the most devastating fears of our generation. The film has moments of levity to help get you through the darkness, but in the end you are left with an emotional gut-punch to drive home the unforgettable nature of trauma. It is a powerhouse of a debut that is not to be missed.
The Fallout had its World Premiere in the Narrative Feature Competition section of SXSW Online 2021.
Director: Megan Park
Writer: Megan Park
Rated: NR
Runtime: 92m
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
