MASS**** - BFI London Film Festival 2021 - Day 6

Actor Fran Kranz' directorial debut MASS feels like a dramatised play - an intense four-hander where two couples meet in a church to explain why one couple's child committed a mass shooting that killed the other couples' child.  The former, Richard and Linda, are played  by Reed Birney and Ann Dowd (THE HANDMAID'S TALE) - the latter, Jay and Gail, by Jason Isaacs and Martha Plimpton.

The shooter's parents explain how their child was lonely and bullied in a new school and retreated into an online world.  He became depressed and the parents struggled to ensure the right medical treatment. He was interested in bombs and tried to make a bomb.  But they didn't tell the school because his grades were good and they didn't want to jeopardise his schooling. With the benefit of hindsight they realise their son was lying.

At the other end of the table, Jay is quiet. He stresses they didn't and don't want to sue.  He has been active in campaigning for gun control but doesn't see that as political.  It's the most quiet and moving performance I have ever seen from Jason Isaacs, who is often cast as a blustering super-confident charismatic alpha male. I hope it earns his award nominations.  Meanwhile, his wife Gail starts off as merely enquiring but becomes more and more frustrated, clearly seeking an answer and a reason for her child's death, and almost forcing the other parents to admit - what - guilt? Culpability? Incompetence as parents?

The resulting film is a rightly tough watch as we are trapped at the table with four people in grief and anger and hear of a fifth who was clearly also deeply disturbed.  There are no easy answers or resolutions.  And I chose to take the closing choral music as ironic. I do not feel any of these parents feels safe or at peace. 

MASS has a running time of 111 minutes and is rated PG-13. The film played Sundance and the BFI London Film Festival 2021. 

HOUSE OF CARDS - Season Two - Chapter Seventeen (spoilers)

PLOT SUMMARY: As Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) prepares for a live TV interview with her new PR man Connor Ellis (Sam Page), Vice President Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) scrambles for the votes to avoid the government shutdown. The trade is to accept a bump in the retirement age in five years time, and is brokered by the new Majority Whip Jackie Sharp (Molly Parker) and lobbyist Remy Danton (Mahershala Ali.) Jackie makes a ballsy move, refusing to trade for votes and demanding loyalty.  Meanwhile, we get to know the hacker, Gavin Orsay (Jimmi Simpson), an FBI informant. A White House assistant opens an envelope apparently containing anthrax, causing an immediate evacuation of the Capitol. Frank is sequestered in his office with Donald Blythe (Reed Birney) - the Democratic congressman disappointed with him cutting education funding - as cell coverage is blocked and the vote is delayed.  This forces Claire to do the live interview on her own, at Frank's urging, and with her reluctance.  She describes a vivid memory of being taken by her father to Dealey Plaza. However, drawn on the question of why they don't have children, and she admits she had an abortion on live TV. Needing to justify why, she admits to having been raped by General Dalton McGinnis, to Frank's evident surprise. In the second ad break, Claire calls another victim of Dalton McGinnis who publicly accuses him.  As the episode closes, Frank serenades Claire as they smoke on their steps. 

COMMENTS: I'm not a massive fan of the device of the government lock-down, and I'm guessing that reintroducing Donald Blythe as a significant character will make more sense to viewers binge-watching seasons 1 and 2 concurrently. And as for Jimmi the supposedly hard-ass hacker - what a bag of over-the-top writing and nonsense - the face-slap, the "I keep a gerbil to remind me how close I am to death" line.  Complete idiocy.  Still, for all that the dynamite in this episode once again resides with Claire, and her explosive live interview revelations.  Once again, it's chilling to see her exploit her rape, but then again, her attacker does deserve to be outed (although preferably this would've been in a court of law - it's not a perfect world.)  The key question is how far Claire planned to make the accusation and how far Frank knew - it appears to have been spontaneous, but I guess we'll discover more.  At any rate, this episode has radically changed my perception of their marriage - and the deep abiding connection they share.