Strangely enough though, I ended up watching the entire one hour and forty minutes (all the way THROUGH the end credits too might I add, something I rarely do). First off, I have to let you know that I don't like depressing movies; I think anything that has to do with sadness, grief, mourning, etc. comes off fake, cheesy, and just plain stupid, so I was reluctant to watch it. And that's honestly how I deal with sad things - I avoid them. I'm an "avoider" as termed by Cameron from "Modern Family." But April Showers was definitely something else.
Based on the events of the tragic Columbine shooting, a survivor (not some wanna-be who thinks they know everything) creates a film about the school shooting. And none of that fake-pity-me crap showed up at all. It was pure, raw emotion that really gives depth to what happened. While not following the exact details of Columbine (what movie can ever do that anyway), it captures the essence of the point. How horrific it is to see children and teenagers running for their lives from their peers. We can watch all the news media, read all the papers, hear all the interviews, but we will NEVER be able to truly understand what goes down at a school shooting; however, this film brings you five steps closer.
The fear of running through the halls, of watching loved ones die, of seeing how people react to certain situations - Robinson (the filmmaker) captures it all. You can talk all you want about what you would do during a dangerous situation, but while watching this movie, you feel like you are there with the students, and suddenly it's not as easy as it looks. Making the right choice (Should we stay or should we go left?) isn't so simple as a test question when one way means life and the other means death. I felt like I understood that before, but watching this movie made me realize I sure as hell didn't. And while you may say you would be the hero who saves the damsel in distress and goes back for everyone - watching this movie puts you in their position and, unexpectedly, your real feelings come through, making you realize that you may not be as brave as you think.
I never get connected with characters; I "avoid" that whenever possible. I don't cry during movies (even Time-Traveler's Wife because that shit was just stupid). However, I felt for these characters as they ran through the halls hoping they wouldn't get shot; as they took the back entrance and broke down a fence with a bench; as they ran through the woods hoping that the shooter wasn't one of them or close by; as they called their friends, only to forever reach their voicemails; as they barricaded themselves behind doors, leaving others behind with the shooter in order to save themselves. It was scary, it was raw, it was powerful (words that I don't throw around with movies too often). And I'm not talking about the acting or the cinematography or the camera action - I'm talking holistically, the picture, the idea, the message gets through. There are several story-lines, and they don't all interconnect, but it doesn't matter; everyone suffers, be it the parent of the slain, the friends of the murdered, the friends of the murderer who didn't see it coming. I felt like I never truly understood the pain or madness of it all from the media, and even though I probably still don't now, I feel a bit closer through Robinson's recreation of a high school story gone bad.
The end credits list all the schools and names since 1970 that have been involved with shootings, and I was surprised at how extensive the list was. Props to Robinson for putting together an eloquent and powerful (how many times have I used that word in this blog? Not enough, I tell you), mournful story that even I can bear to watch without cringing. I believe this film gives a whole new feel to the words "school shooting" and I hope that people will get a positive response out of it. Middle school and high school are, for most, a living hell (at least it was for me), and it saddens me to see how horrible our world can really be, that our innocence from childhood is truly short-lived.
