Simplistic in plot and yet incredibly deep in characterization, The Fallout does a fantastic job explaining how it might feel to go through a school shooting and cope afterwards. I imagine it changes you fundamentally; in addition to that, your relationships with friends and family also transition into a different state as no one really knows what to say or do or feel. I would have given it 8/10 for the acting alone, but I'm not sure if I'm going to seek out tragedies like this to watch routinely.

The good stuff:
** Jenna Ortega seems like she's been in everything lately, but keep it coming! Since this movie, she's been in Scream, Studio 666 and X, and I like her in all of it. She doesn't play a diverse set of characters yet, but she is very enjoyable on screen and really gets into some depth with this character.
** Why did I know the girl who plays Mia, but didn't recognize her exactly? Because it's been a few years since I've seen Maddie Ziegler in every Sia video ever. She's 19 now (born 3 days after Jenna Ortega) and they had a great onscreen chemistry. After taking some serious public hits from her role in Music, she came back to perform a well-constructed character that shows the viewer they may not know everything they think they know about social media darlings.
** The Cavell family (Jenna Ortega's parents and sister) was also a wonderful part of the story. Julie Bowen (Modern Family) and John Ortiz (in the "That Guy" Hall of Fame) and newcomer Lumi Pollack were portrayed as concerned, confused, and supportive. The screaming scene is particular was fantastic and emotional.
** The shooting scene was purposefully short and purposefully off-screen, which definitely made it more impactful.

The bummers:
-- I would have liked to see Quinton (Niles Fitch, This is Us) a little more. After the tragedy, he could've been a bigger part of the story.

Honestly, there weren't a lot of bummers. This movie was a fantastic portrayal of an event that is on the minds of students and parents alike. It was deep but not preachy, intense but not artificially dramatic, and told a solid story without inventing foolish plot devices. A very good watch.

Trauma is one of the most challenging things a human has to go through in their life. What's even more unfortunate is the truth that you never frankly recover from it, or worse, you never know if you had one if you've been repressing your feelings, emotions, and thoughts, only to seem like a happier person for everyone around you.

That's the life for Vada, a person who, for the first time in their life, has to go through the hardest experiences in their life, where they don't know how it ends. Stuck in a school bathroom while outside, thousands of screaming voices are silenced by the sounds of gunshots firing from a person to whom life doesn't matter. In those few moments, you genuinely rethink your life and beg for another chance at it. But when you get it, does it matter when there are people out there who didn't?

In so many different ways, this film shows an aspect of a person's point of view of how truly damaging one experience can be to a human being. From the beginning of, what one can say, the healing process, Vada is experiencing numbness, the absolute nothingness of what she had gone through. It's one of those feelings where you want it to be an awful dream and when the situation makes it unbelievable for one to hear. They spend their days in their room, doing nothing but try to feel better, where feeling better isn't an option.

Next is trying to move on or lead a normal life where normal doesn't seem like it. When they find a friend, spend time with her, trying to have fun after the sheer horror both of them have gone through; as soon as it ends, it looks like you're back at the beginning. Even going back to school doesn't help when every other class is learning how to protect themselves if the same situation occurs, bringing back the painful memories of such a disastrous day, trying to beat every passing second with drugs, alcohol, or pure insanity to just, for once, feel a bit different.

Three: Accepting and Healing. When they finally get to spend time with their father, screaming their pain from the top of their lungs out into the world; when they finally tell their sister that they were never mad at her, only worried for her safety; when they finally reveal their therapist how they feel and what they think; when they finally promise their mother that no lie should ever slip their tongue ever again and trust them with their entire life - life, for once, seems healed. Everything seems to be back to normal. Trauma hits you again, directly into your 'face', and pain is all you have left.

It's not easy to film this film. It's a painful one but is also true. It's real life.

Full Analysis at Spotamovie.com **- Intro -** Released in 2021, The Fallout is a movie that doesn’t have any reason to exist, if only we live in a healthy world. It’s a drama, full of solid emotions gradually delivered. It is the denunciation of those crimes that disrupt the lives of adolescents, families and communities. But The Fallout is also the celebration of life; it’s a wake-up call to take care of the people we love, of our passions and our lives because one day, what it’s standard today, may look different tomorrow. **- The Story -** It’s an ordinary day. Vada goes to school with her friend, when suddenly their lives are messed up because of a gun shooting inside their school. The horrifying incident leaves indelible marks in their minds. But this is also the moment when their relationships, desires and lives are questioned and reconsidered. The young and traumatised victims bond together to come back to life, exploring their existence,while the ordinary world doesn’t seem to understand them.What will they learn? Will they be able to overcome their trauma? And why those shots are vital? **We explained the movie at https://www.spotamovie.com/the-fallout-movie-review-and-explanation-2021-movie/**