Customer Reviews

Home Room

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"Home Room" like "Zero Day" and "Elephant", was inspired by the recent wave of school shootings. But unlike the other two films, "Home Room" focuses on two survivors (not the shooters or those killed) in the aftermath of a shooting. Making it less exploitive and more useful because little effort is wasted in asking questions for which there are no answers.

Don't give up on this little film during the first 20 minutes, it is supposed to set up the real story but plays like a rejected "Hill Street Blues" episode. It is lame but bear with it, at least it pads the running length enough to get the film classified as a feature. I recommend skipping this entirely and just jumping ahead to the hospital scenes-there is nothing here that you can't pick up from the remainder of the film.

Like a lot of good little films this was creatively a one-man show as Paul F. Ryan was both the writer and the director. While this arrangement does not guarantee a good film, it is usually a good sign because it will mean a certain unity of construction and execution that is often lacking in big budget dramatic features. Because the script of "Home Room" is its real strength it is fortunate that the writer also executed the production and insured that his vision made it onto the screen.

Ryan takes a huge chance with an ending that tests the limits of the average viewer's sentimentality tolerance. He runs it right up to the edge but against all logic leaves you crying instead of cringing. Why the ending works is some combination of the audience need for a reward at the end of this kind of journey, the song (Sarah McLaughlin's "Sweet Surrender") he goes out on, and the amazing editing of the final few seconds.

The other strength of the film is the casting of Busy Phillips (Alicia) and Erika Christensen (Deanna) as the main protagonists. Although Phillips plays her standard alienated surly teen and Christensen her intelligent daughter of a good family, they both bring more intensity to their roles than ever before. The family life of both girls is more than satisfactory and of little interest to Ryan. What is happening here is all about the two of them despite a lame side story about a police detective wondering around town trying to tie Alicia to the lone shooter. If they ever re-cut and trim the film this side story should be condensed.

A story about two extremely disparate girls bonding and helping each other is hardly a novel idea and Ryan could have easily steered this film into cliché and predictability. But instead his script has them engaging in a fascinating and convincing sparring match, slowly chipping away at each other and sharing moments of vulnerability, only to retreat back inside themselves. Deanna's "I'm dying inside" line just tears you apart-I can't think of a moment in any other film that I felt as intensely as that one. She desperately needs a connection that Alicia just as desperately resists. Deanna only makes progress when she retreats. The viewer keeps expecting the group hug that never seems to happen.

Ultimately this not only generates a lot of suspense but leaves you admiring both characters and the two actresses who brought them to life.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

If there is one movie that will be completly ignored and shouldn't be at this years Academy Awards it's Home Room. One of the most intense, heartbreaking films I have seen all year. Turning in a career making performance is Busy Phillips (Audrey of Dawson's Creek). Here she proves to be one of the best young talents today delivering an emotional performance as Alicia. Busy Phillips is the embodiment of the word versatile. She can play the crazy, outgoing, and fun Audrey on Dawsons to the angry, bitter, depressed Alicia in Home Room. She makes the film worth seeing. Erica Christenson also turns in a heartbreaking performance. Her portrayel of Deanna is so sincere and honest. The 2 have an amazing chemistry. Everyone please see this film. It's very powerful and has some of the best performances of the year.

I bought this dvd used on Amazon after reading some reviews and the description, I never heard of this movie before I purchased it I just decided to take a chance. This movie is great, shows you shouldn't judge someone before you know them. Two people become close friends because of the shooting incident and they're two completly different people. I recommend buying this movie!!

This Movie will make you think that there is a madness out there that needs to be understood. This motion picture is really sad, but it has a good message. There is a world that is going on in the nations schools that really needs to be explained and home room provides several answers to the areas that parents, teens and faculty need to know. I thought about this movie for 3 days, thinking about the ending which to me personally was so touching. One actually cares for the characters to have a happy ending. In my Vision, this is a Quality film that got overlooked by the Oscars. homeroom is just right up there with traffic-meaning in where these are emotional films that will make you believe, think and wonder about the issues that people are facing today. homeroom is recommended, and it is pretty good that this film has reached 10,000 units. great accomplishment.
home room has actress e. christensen, busy phillips and viktor garber-who plays officer van zandt.

I also recommend "Blue Car" and Agnes Bruckner is in it. Agnes Bruckner is also in Home Room with E.Christensen.

I do not know if I have ever seen a film that offered a series of stunning revelations at the climax and then threw away the big finish with pair of directing theatrics totally out of place in the two-hour movie I had just seen. But even those mistakes do not stop "Home Room" from being a compelling film.

"Home Room" is about the aftermath of a shooting at a high school in a small town. Writer-Director Paul F. Ryan begins his film at the moment when the shooting is over and the first person we see is the tactical officer (Harper Johnston) who had to shoot the teenage boy inside the classroom. When Detective Martin Van Zandt (Victor Garber of "Alias") enters the room there the bodies of the shooter and his dead classmates, along with one living person, a girl standing in the corner.

Alicia Browning (Busy Philipps of "Dawson's Creek") is your typical Goth girl, but after being grilled by the police she goes home and turns herself blonde. Meanwhile, Van Zandt is ordered by his superior to find somebody to be held accountable for this tragedy. The shooter is dead and he killed his parents, from whom he got his gun, but the community is outraged and demands somebody be brought to justice. When it turns out that the shooter called Alicia the night before and talked for an hour, she becomes the prime suspect.

All Alicia wants to do is to graduate from high school and get out of town as quickly as possible. She has already missed a year of school, further alienating her from her classmates. When she goes to school to study for final exams she discovers it is closed, and when Principal Robbins (James Pickens, Jr.) learns she is spending her time smoking on the roof of her house, he forces Alicia to look in on Deanna Cartwright (Erika Christensen of "Traffic"), who is recovering from both a head wound and the trauma of being shot at the local hospital. The two have never talked before and Alicia dismisses Deanna, at one point calling her a girl who would see the silver lining in a mushroom cloud.

Obviously we have seen countless films where two people who have nothing in common forged a friendship, however unlikely and tenuous. But in "Home Room" that is only the framework for dealing with the aftermath of a traumatic experience. There are depths to both characters to be explored and this film takes its time in doing so. All of the dramatic threads come together in a scene that takes us back to where we started and examines from a different perspective what we think we know about what happened and these characters. You might see one of the surprises that comes in this climatic scene, but I do not think anybody is going to see all of them coming.

But then we are treated to a montage of the teenagers offering explanations as to "why" that looks like a public service announcement by the government and then goes right into a music video as Sarah McLachlan's "Sweet Surrender" provides a musical benediction to the final silent scene between Deanna and Alicia. I swear, it was like somebody else came in and directed the final minutes of the movie. From a dramatic narrative "Home Room" suddenly becomes a film that wants to discuss big issues out in the real world and the shift is just too abrupt and too heavy handed.

"Home Room" comes down to the performances of Philipps and Christensen, who both do a good job of getting beyond the stereotypical characters to show the traumatic aftermath of what they have been through, even as we are learning more about those traumas. I am sure there are serious discussions to be had over the question of violence and shootings in schools, and watching this film may well engender them. But I still think the human drama here stands on it's own, despite the problematic ending.

This is not your average movie about school shootings. For one thing, the movie begins after the tragedy. For another, there is no graphic violence nor copious amounts of blood, but the emotional impact is a punch to the gut just the same.

Busy Philipps and Erika Christensen star as the two high-schoolers who form a tenuous relationship shortly after the tragedy. Busy is Alicia, the rebellious teen who's apparently beyond reach, who seems blaise and callous about the shootings. Erika is Deanna, the quintessentially perfect high school student who doesn't know how the deal with the nightmares and flashbacks that seem to be overwhelming her. Victor Garber portrays Det. Martin Van Zandt, the police detective who is under pressure to find someone to blame and arrest, but is increasingly uncomfortable with the direction that his boss wants to move in.

There are no easy answers in this movie, just as in life. Alicia's angry exterior is off-putting at first; she acts like she knows it all and would be easy to dismiss as another hostile teenager. Until you get to know her. Then you realize that she's just as much a kid inside as Deanna, a kid in desperate need of understanding and acceptance. Ms. Philipps was incredible in this role, handling the anger and raw emotion flawlessly.

Every parent and teenager should watch this movie together and then talk about it. {Warning: This film is rated R for explicit language, but it fits perfectly into the characters.) Every teacher should see this movie. I am a teacher of young children and the idea of those precious little souls growing up to experience something like the movie's events just broke my heart. Teens need caring, involved adults in their lives just as much, if not more, than little ones do. Especially the ones who seem the least receptive. Senseless tragedy is hard enough to deal with for adults; imagine the difficulty for children, who believe that adults have all the answers, and you have this movie.

Beautifully filmed and scored; there are several long scenes with just music that powerfully express the horror these kids went through in subtle ways. Brilliantly acted by all involved, including a stellar supporting cast. Sensitively written and edited, it's a film that will make you think and make you feel, maybe even make you reach out to that struggling teen you know.

I had the good fortune to see this movie on the big screen, at the Los Angeles premiere. Twice. I was very moved both times, particularly the second, once I knew the whole story. There are other movies coming out that deal with school shootings; most will probably build up to the tragedy and leave you there, as though that were the end. But the shootings are really just a moment in time, a small fragment of the whole tragic situation. The aftermath goes on forever for those involved, and I am grateful to the makers of this film for showing a small slice of that experience.

This is a great film. It is not only about a school shooting but it is about people. Everyday people who are trying to get by, and that is what makes this such a great film.

I actually just watched this movie last night, I was expecting a movie more focused on the actual shooting and the shooter but it wasn't. It was focused on the strange and deepening relationship between the two main characters. This movie was rather long but you never noticed how long until it was over, I don't feel as though it dragged on at all. It really kept you hooked up to the last minute. It was a very beautifully and wonderfully made movie. I was very impressed to learn that it was an independent movie because it was done so well. The story was great the way it was told and I absolutely loved this movie. It really does change your perspective on people and you realize that someone may be mean or different but it may be for a reason--you have no idea what happens in other people's lives and this movie really makes you see that. I recommend that everyone go see this movie--if you go rent it, it's only like $4 or $5 and it's WELL worth it!

Alicia and Deanna have the same homeroom and it seems probably did nothing more than exchange glances every morning. Alicia(the goth girl) knew nothing about Deanna but she was one of these beautiful, rich, intelligent white girls that all of the teachers adored! Deanna knew nothing about Alicia but she was "in a world to herself" and she respected that. I will point out from a personal observation that Alicia has some of the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen!

Alicia goes to Deaana's hospital room to make their principal happy....they hardly do anything but exchange pleasantries.

Yet, Alicia keeps coming back day-after-day to this room. Alicia persuades Deanna to go outside for walks, talk about life and to quit feeling sorry for herself over the shootings.

To me, the most "moving" scene is when Alicia has spent the night with Alicia in her room. Deanna takes the remote from Alicia's hand and then opens her fingerless gloves to try one on after being told "no". The looks of both girls(without the other one knowing about the other) is incredible yet not a single word is ever said between them during this scene.

The "survivors" of the homeroom shooting come together several months later for "closure". Alicia's performance in here(which changes the lives of everyone in there forever) could have easily won her an Oscar!

To answer a previous post, I think Alicia cries at the end after receiving her diploma because nobody in the whole world(including herself) ever thought she could have done it!

this movie is amazing, and such a tearjerker.. i love the friendship between the two, and the acting is excellent.. and heartbreaking

i have a question though, at the end of the moive, when they graduated and were crying.. was alicia crying about the school shooting or her baby? and i'm guessing Deanna was crying about the shooting, but that was an excellent scene.. and was so good

my fave movie!!