This should have been a 'boy' version of "Eighth Grade," the wonderful little film by Bo Burnham from earlier this year (2018). And that's what the first half of the film felt like.
Instead, we ended up with your typical run-of-the-mill school shooting movie, which we've already seen with "Elephant" and "Zero Day," among others.
It's really a shame because the lead actor who plays Edwin, a young man by the name of Arman Darbo, gives an AMAZING performance that would be Oscar nomination worthy in a better movie. It sincerely felt like I was watching a young Leonardo DiCaprio, as cliche as that feels to type.
The character of Edwin deserved a better storyline than being a hesitant participant in a school shooting. The depression, anxiety, and isolation of Edwin (with such a realistic portrayal) was an interesting tale to watch on its own that it just didn't need such a senseless, melodramatic plot device to carry the film.
Oh, and the ending sucked too. Just awful.
Instead, we ended up with your typical run-of-the-mill school shooting movie, which we've already seen with "Elephant" and "Zero Day," among others.
It's really a shame because the lead actor who plays Edwin, a young man by the name of Arman Darbo, gives an AMAZING performance that would be Oscar nomination worthy in a better movie. It sincerely felt like I was watching a young Leonardo DiCaprio, as cliche as that feels to type.
The character of Edwin deserved a better storyline than being a hesitant participant in a school shooting. The depression, anxiety, and isolation of Edwin (with such a realistic portrayal) was an interesting tale to watch on its own that it just didn't need such a senseless, melodramatic plot device to carry the film.
Oh, and the ending sucked too. Just awful.