Rich Wright An unsettling account of what might happen if your son became a mass murderer, it paints a picture of a family torn up over their child's actions and the new perception the rest of the world sees them in. I don't think I could cope with the endless barrage of Press at the door, nor the loss of friends or stares in the street from total strangers. Then there's the questions: Could I have done anything to stop it? Was his state of mind caused by my own inattention? Did I show him enough love?This is an impossible situation for the parents to deal with, especially as they were on the edge of divorce even before these tragic events transpired. But all they have left is each other, and the film demonstrates their new found alliance against a hostile public. The performances couldn't be bettered, and the remorse you feel for this couple is palpable as everyone seems, in the absence of their dead offspring, to make them the scapegoats. It's not their fault. They loved their son. Sometimes, children just go bad. After all, I don't think Hitler's parents had any idea of the monster they were raising, did they?At first, I hated the last scene. Too many unresolved plot threads, not enough resolution. But the more I think about it, it makes sense. Connect your own dots. Imagine your own follow-up. I would like to say they'll be fine, but I have my doubts... 7/10

Tomas Maly A gut-wrenching movie, it shows an honest/raw portrayal of a distant couple facing the tragedy surrounding their son. The denial, the shock, the grief, the rage, the anxiety, the sorrow, the hopelessness. You wonder why a seemingly normal young adult can do something as tragic/irrational as public murdering of a dozen people and then oneself. Going beyond blame and fear that is conventional in the media, the movie takes the perspective of the child's parents, who are in shock and grief, and simply can't understand what went wrong, with such a "normal" child. Are the parents to blame? Did they do their best? Did they do anything wrong? Were their tell-tale signs? Or are the socially acceptable ideas of escapism (within work and entertainment and gender roles) to blame for shutting down the ability for our youth to feel and cope with their emotional turmoil? What do our children learn from us when we form habits of avoiding communication and expression, and simply escape into a realm of fantasy and distraction? Perhaps something so innocent as not talking to our children about how we feel and letting a marriage drift apart into a chasm, avoiding the responsibility of feeling anything at all by simply not giving one's emotions any time through unstructured time or expression. Maybe the recipe for a broken marriage, faking it for the kids, and our unwillingness to work with our spouse (or move on to healthy relationships), teaches our children to never bother recovering from their own pain caused from our destructive society and communities. Perhaps a large segment of divorcées simply drifted apart because of the inevitable pain they wanted to avoid from being in society. You go through years in life and face many difficult, unpleasant, and traumatic experiences/events (big and small). When you face a mountain of pain, you either face it and risk falling apart, or ignore it and shut down. Shutting down means you disconnect from yourself AND others, and let the most important relationships around you suffer as well. Reality is that society and it's demands are unaccommodating of family, of love, of children, of leisure and intimate/honest human connection - in a world where production and profit are king. The abuse just doesn't become readily apparent until we have other priorities outside of work, ie family.Perhaps the dichotomy of an absent and silent father and an overbearing mother - both socially acceptable roles - has much to do with the despair developing in our youth - powerless to feel and express themselves and to cope with their feelings. Teaching our children to shut down, to sit helplessly in despair, until it becomes too much. That the pain we feel is inevitable and not worth overcoming. The movie also shows a sad portrayal of the parents' attempt at coping through escapism in entertainment (the father) and clinging to familiar habits/roles (mothering, working, fixing things), etc. How we try to fill the void.Perhaps the redeeming and uplifting part of this movie is how we all suffer when we shut down and escape, but opening up back to each other, despite the difficult and painful feelings we don't want to face - such as regret/bitterness over being in such rigid provider/caregiver roles - that this willingness toward raw intimacy, no matter how difficult or unpleasant, might just save us from the despair we don't want to face, by having love and nurturing and understanding from another - something not possible when you shut yourself off from others and prefer escapism and rigid roles over human connection. There are moments in the film where the estranged couple begin to talk about how they feel in general and show a care for the other, moments of letting go of the pain and embracing intimacy, and moments where they hit rock bottom and attack each other for their personal suffering and the suffering of their dead child, rather than bear any responsibility, even if just by communication and intimacy and love. In their case, the marriage ending is perhaps not so much about anything either have done wrong, but about the silent suffering each has gone through, and the fear of facing the pain that the other reminds them of, in the process of being productive and normal members of society. Keeping up with the Jonseses. Suffering which they have, up until this tragedy, learned to stuff and hide away and avoid facing.

edwagreen A saving grace of this film was the magnificent performances of Maria Bello and Michael Sheen in the title roles, a couple who are totally devastated when their beloved son takes his own life at his college after committing mass murder.While truly a depressing film, it examines the effects of this tragedy on the parents. Apparently, their marriage was far from a good one, and this horrendous event turns things beyond the breaking point.They don't know where to hide when television cameras show up at their home. They flee to her brother, but the sister-in-law isn't too keen to have them, especially when their child is told by the other children that you'll wind up with your cousin in hell.Their lives totally collapse and their doesn't seem a way out. At no time is therapy recommended.Years back I could have easily seen Faye Dunaway and Jack Nicholson in the role of the devastated parents.

Kareninva This is a very thought provoking film. The performances by Michael Sheen and Maria Bello are moving. The chemistry between the two actors is very believable. The grieving process was honestly portrayed. The emotional journey makes you want to see some healing occur for this couple. I loved that the violence was not the focus of this film. This is a story about two people who lose their only son who clearly love him. In the end, whether the son committed a terrible act of violence or not, it's about picking up the pieces and trying to heal. It was wonderfully revealed how ugly and destructive hate is without being preachy. Tissues are needed to watch this one.