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The Fallout, written and directed by Megan Park, is a moving drama fabricated with the nuances of trauma. Since the film arrived on HBO Max this January 27, 2022, it seems to have impacted the minds of the audience with its subtle yet effectively artful narrative style and direction.
The film revolves around a teenage Vada, distressfully struggling to deal with the grief and crippling trauma in the aftermath of her high-school shooting. What makes this film a standout is its understated portrayal of dreadful events. Rather than giving violent visuals, it focused on the emotional turmoil the victims went through and continue to.
The Fallout: Major takeaways
A refreshingly genuine representation of Generation Z
Park's stellar movie debut, The Fallout, is all about the state-of-mind of a shell-shocked group of teenagers. The movie can be considered quite mood-centric. Beginning with a set-up that gives the feeling of just another teenage drama, the film quickly turns the course with the unseen but loudly heard terrors of a high-school shooting.
Seeing the three youngsters, Vada, Mia, and Quiton, hiding inside the bathroom, praying to survive, the audience is bound to feel that nothing's going to be the same for them. The idea, however, is not to alarm the viewers but to depict how an ordinary teenager like Vada can become unstable and mentally traumatized by such painful events.
Strong on the surface but equally if not more sensitive underneath
Megan Park seamlessly discloses in The Fallout how Generation Z seems strong and level-headed on the surface, but underneath they are equally if not more broken and sensitive. The protagonist, impactfully portrayed by Jenna Ortega, Vada, calls herself 'low-key' and 'chill' on various occasions. But the truth unfolds whenever she is alone.
The intensity of her struggle is quite evident from several uncomfortably powerful scenes. The audience witnesses Vada waking up from her sleep, covered in a cold sweat after watching a horrible dream, when she is just sitting in the bathtub shivering or when she confesses that she feels numb.
The portrayal of Vada's little sister Amelia, played by Lumi Pollack, also is a piercing representation of Generation Z. Throughout the movie, Amelia tries to hide her fear of going to school. She is also keen on getting distant from her elder sister by pretending to be all stable and chill, making Tik-Tok videos, and taking part in family conversations with a rational approach.
Her numerous failed attempts to have a conversation with Vada make the audience feel empathetic towards her. In the end, however, Amelia breaks down and confesses her emotional distress to her sister.
The importance of mental health and well-being
One of the most central underlying themes of the movie is the importance of mental health awareness and well-being. Writer and director Megan Park prominently highlight that this generation is more than ever in need of mental peace and security.
The brief appearance by actress Shailene Woodley as Vada's therapist strikes an essential chord for the effectiveness and significance of this particular underlying theme in this tragic movie. Thus, it is safe to say that writer and director Megan Park successfully achieves an authentic, in-depth representation of Generation Z.
The Fallout can be watched on HBO Max, streaming from the January 27, 2022.
