© (C) 2009 APRIL SHOWERS

Movies:

Movie Review: APRIL SHOWERS

A harrowing take on a Columbine-type school massacre written and directed by a survivor himself

Grade: B+
Stars: Kelly Blatz, Daryl Sabara, Janel Parrish, Ellen Woglom, Illeana Douglas, Tom Arnold
Writer(s): Andrew Robinson
Director: Andrew Robinson
Release Date: April 24, 2009
Rating: R

---

By CARL CORTEZ, Contributing Editor
Published 4/22/2009

While teen angst has been explored in varying degrees over the years (from the comedic side witnessed in John Hughes and Judd Apatow productions) to the darker aspect of high school cinema (RIVER’S EDGE, KIDS), it always proves fertile ground when someone steps outside the box to create a brand new take on a well-worn formula.

And that’s what writer-director Andrew Robinson has done with APRIL SHOWERS. A Columbine survivor, Robinson has distilled his experiences with that horrifying school shooting from ten years ago and created a gut-wrenching movie about tragedy, humanity and what it takes physically and mentally to survive such a horrifying ordeal.

The story is told from the perspective of Sean (Kelly Blatz), an ambitious high schooler who is also emotionally shut off from any serious relationships, although he has a crush on pretty drama student April (Ellen Woglom).

When a fellow student begins shooting up the school, we follow Sean and his fellow peers as they try to save each other and themselves – with April’s tragic death being a focal point for all.

There’s fine performances by everyone, particularly Blatz, who has a very tough role of conveying his emotions while also trying to give off an air of detachment, which the role requires. There’s some nice chemistry in the flashback scenes between him and April – where we learn the nature of their relationship and you almost wish there was more of that front-loaded in the beginning of the picture.

Daryl Sabara also gives a fantastic performance as Jason – a survivor of the aftermath whose fuzzy surveillance photo image dragging a deceased young girl out of the school makes him an unlikely hero – which is something he doesn’t feel he deserves and doesn’t want.

Robinson tells the story in a very harrowing style. There isn’t much set-up with the characters before you’re thrown into the mayhem. There’s a lot of catch-up and the movie could have done with a little more character development early on, so the emotional resonance played even greater in the latter half. Still, there’s something unique in this choice – it creates an air of authenticity to the frenetic nature of things and also comments in a very realistic way of how many students are disconnected from one another and barely know each other.  And even the one’s you know are complete strangers and can turn on a dime.

APRIL SHOWERS is not a perfect film, but it gets under your skin. It doesn’t offer up a bunch of preachy answers either. What it does well though is open up a conversation about high school life in new century and how it’s important to connect with those around you and the one’s you love before it’s too late. 

The film is rated R, but it’s an important film for teenagers and parents to see. It’s not overtly graphic, there’s no sex and the violence would garner a typical action or horror movie a PG. It’s a shame, but then this bit of news has certainly given the film additional publicity that it needs to get it out to the indie world as it opens in limited release in 20 cities this Friday and you can also download the film from iTunes.

CLICK HERE FOR iF'S EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH WRITER-DIRECTOR ANDREW ROBINSON

3629-3649

Reader Comments

Bonerarne from Ethiopia sez....
Could not find a suitable section so I written here, how to become a moderator for your forum, that need for this?
12/11/2009 1:03:31 PM

Duagmamup from Andorra sez....
Is social media going to kill SEO?
11/7/2009 10:23:20 AM

Dan McClure from Omaha, Nebraska sez....
Very well said. You give an honest and fair assessment of the film.
4/22/2009 6:45:23 PM

Your Comments are always welcomed here

Your name?	Your location?
Tell us what you think?
Enter Security Code: Load New Code