April Showers

source: April Showers

This is a film about a high school shooting, not so much about the shooting itself as about the survivors. Their emotions, their guilt, anger, grief and finally acceptance. The young actors are brilliant in their respective roles although Indie darling Ileana Douglas is criminally wasted. The script is good, although there are a few plot holes and the scene of the shooting is rushed. It is a small film well told and the weighty subject matter is delicately handled. I am somewhat surprised at the high age-restriction as this is an important film for teens to see showing the devastating destruction that simple bullying can cause.

I have to disagree 100% with the people who dislike this movie. I agree that there are some flaws and things that could have been done to make the movie a little bit better. Also before i get going i went into this movie not knowing anything about it or watching the trailer. This movie is beautifully realistic and thats what makes the movie. the movie was meant to show the after math of what happened not spend the whole movie on the shooting itself. I am just so in awe of this movie and its one of the most intense films i have seen in a long time. It's scary at the end how many school shootings there have been. I also think that people need to take this movie for what it is. its not a million dollar movie and it is an independent film. its not meant to be a Hollywood blockbuster and i love that its not. Its an independent movie made by a columbine survivor. Some of the movie is disjointed but that is overshadowed by the message of the film. Very good job.

I don't even know how much I can write about this artsy little film. I went into it only knowing that it was written and directed by a Columbine survivor. So why did it seem so unrealistic? The acting, for the most part, was very after-school-TV-special. I can only imagine that most of the "teen" actors were chosen for their ability to cry on command. And Tom Arnold's superb performance is not only crammed into the beginning of the movie, but never thought of again (shame!). In fact, of the at least fifteen people killed in the massacre (look at the number of crosses put up!), April seems to be the only one who "matters" - her funeral at the end is full of clichés ("she lived every day to the fullest" - come on, now) and she's really the only victim mentioned by name at all. The first half-hour of the movie is chaos. People are running everywhere and there are some gunshots, but where's the shooter? Does anyone care? The dialogue is usually either so inept or so muffled and quiet that I couldn't make out why hordes of kids were running through the woods. And I find it very, very hard to believe that of all the "survivors" in the school, not one of them could identify the shooter. It all seemed like an afterthought. From what I could gather of the "police investigation," the cops are seen arresting a kid named Ben and asking Sean (our greasy "hero") a few questions about him. Well - surprise, surprise! - Ben's not the shooter. In fact, he was with Sean during the whole ordeal! (This is the problem with changing such a key fact about the case: Columbine shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold took their own lives after the massacre. What do you do with a still-living shooter whom apparently nobody has seen? Well, if you're the characters in this film, you sit around and mope, then spray-paint "KILLER" on the house of some kid rumoured to have something to do with it. Again: come on, now.) The cinematography is worth mentioning - the whole movie is filmed very artistically. I probably would've liked it more if I'd simply watched it without audio! I couldn't identify with most of the characters. Why make brooding Sean the hero if all you want to do is film him shirtless, staring out a window on a rainy day? Ooh, he punches a mirror. Aah, he can't form a meaningful connection with a girl. Who cares? April's not much better. Ooh, look at how pretty and blonde she is! Aah, she even writes in a diary! Too bad she has absolutely no character traits. No positive ones, no negative ones. She's just... there. Jason was interesting (save for his melodramatic freak-out in the grocery store), and I would've liked to see more of Ben. It broke my heart at the end of the movie to see Ben packing his stuff and leaving... how do you get over being falsely branded a killer? Too bad it's all glossed over in favour of more languorous scenes of Sean moping. Everything interesting, in fact, is glossed over (like the great performances by Tom Arnold and Ileana Douglas). I can only handle a few minutes' worth of weepy B.S. - with "April Showers," I got an hour and forty-four. For crime scholars and others interested in knowing more about Columbine and the psychology of school shooters, skip this one and watch a documentary or something instead (I'd recommend "Zero Day," a mockumentary that's chilling, darkly funny, and ultimately heart-wrenching). For young people who think their parents "just don't understand what they're going through" and enjoy long, prettily-shot takes of shirtless guys staring off into infinity, I'd say pick this one up.

WATCH IT. ~~~~~ read I'm not going to tell u about the movie. just the emotion. not sure if thats considered a spoil. just finished watching this. I'm 23 years of my name date. for all that said like me, " I wish they would show a school shooting movie, or things like this in a more realistic deeper way." i said that many times. this movie does that. and i cry on small stuff., yet even my strong willed guy cried, through the whole movie. definitely the ending. if u don't care about people hurting even mentally and just want to see death, find another movie. this is something much deeper and breaks it down for u, day by day. its based on a real life thing. WATCH IT. see. and get back to me.

I had a similar experience as reviewer "ANightToRemember" where I first saw this in theaters and thought it was great, but after repeated viewings the film had cringiness here and there. On the upside, the writing and direction are better than in most school shooting films, I've seen. However, this film commits many of the similar crimes that 'Elephant' does in that it takes a way too artsy approach. I don't believe that school shootings make a good subject when doing an artsy independent film regardless of who's behind it. I would've preferred this had been a bigger budget studio production though many would disagree. Andrew Robinson does a good job with this even though he offers nothing new on the subject of Columbine that we didn't know already. Tons of survivor books have been released over the decade since Columbine and various film interpretations of school shootings in general have been done. This one bears the most similarities however to the real Columbine though not of the same decade. Another thing I'm not a fan of here are the characters. The only character in the entire film I enjoyed watching was Jason. But I had a hard time getting into Sean as the main lead. For a film directed by a Columbine survivor, he definitely over-exaggerated in various areas or bordered on the unrealistic. I personally thought villainous portrayal of the media was a bit of an overkill. I also never believe that a teacher would butt into a student's love life the way that drama teacher does. Anyway I don't mind that the film keep its POV on the survivors but it doesn't make it better as film. Different yes, but this film is easily dismissible as another standard school shooting film for the bin.

Based on his real life experience of surviving the Columbine High School Massacre, writer and director, Andrew Robinson comes up with a retelling, titled "April Showers" which promises to deliver something that will make us all think. I applaud Andrew for achieving something that must have been very hard to do. To relive these terrible events in an effort to outline how some of these survivors coped and how some didn't through such a troubling time , was a courageous thing to do. with solid Cinematography and passable acting, the film really should have delivered what it was striving for, but unfortunately, due to some real problems, it falls quite hard. To start with, for a film of this nature to work, we really have to connect with the characters. Unfortunately, the film prevents us from getting acquainted with the people involved, through lack of story development. The Massacre happens in the first five minutes of the film, so we are thrust into the deep end before knowing anything. So instead of the emotional strain that the viewer should be feeling, we can separate ourselves from them. I compare it to hearing something on the news, which takes place over the other side of the world. Yes its shocking, but there isn't as much impact for us, as opposed to having a relative or friend in the actual tragedy. This film didn't allow us to really care what was going on, which makes the second half of the film rather boring, as we try our best to connect with those grieving, but just can't. My other problem is that the main focus of the film, the relationship between Sean and April, takes the gloss away from the only really interesting character, one that is going through post traumatic stress. There is just no allowance for any chemistry between the romance of the lead two, and like the majority of the film, it just feels like its eating away the run time, as opposed to actually building a solid platform of emotion. If the film was done in way that we have development and then the tragedy, I feel it could have worked. But as a result of impatience and maybe a lack of experience, the director chose a different path that ultimately hurts it and prevents it from being a memorable experience. Ordinary at best, but a courageous move from the director.

Involves very minor spoilers. To start off I have to say that I waited for about a year and a half for this film to be released in Australia, so when I came across it accidentally at the video store I work at I almost had a heart attack. I immediately hired it. I was not disappointed. The first 30-45 minutes set during the actual shooting was completely engaging and tense, it was brutal and totally heart-wrenching. The students actions in the school are varied, there are those who act heroically and some who don't, just like what I imagine it would be like in the real situation. The film slows down a bit in the second half when we follow the survivors trying to deal with their own issues and tragedies, especially those of Kelly Blatz's Sean (Blatz puts forward an amazing performance) dealing with the death of his friend, April and Daryl Sabara's Jason who tries to deal with being labeled a hero. This part of the film doesn't have as much punch and emotional impact as the first part, but it deals with the characters realistically and sensitively. I do have some small issues, though. Firstly, April isn't given enough back story, I never really felt like I knew her well enough for her death to make a huge emotional impact. It all came from Sean's reactions. Her relationship with Sean isn't developed enough, either, there are only two or three short scenes with them together so we never really know who she is. I also felt that there were so many others characters that needed a voice. There are some students that have beautifully tragic stories, but are pulled out of the film so quickly (eg. The boy who stays behind to help his teacher, Sean's friend who finds a girl he knows, dead or close to, in the developments). I won't go into the other issues I have with it, you can figure out your own, but these are the main problems I found. Overall it was a gorgeous, moving film that could never have been made with such meticulous attention to character and detail without a director who had actually lived the experience. Robinson knows what he is writing and he never exploits his characters or uses too many clichés. I highly recommend 'April Showers', but only if you enjoy films that have you close to tears.

Saw the movie this afternoon, as it debuted in Omaha, NE. Most of the movie was filmed in the area, and my step-daughter was an extra in the movie. The movie is pretty much a re-enactment of the Columbine shooting, with names changed, as well as some of the details. For example, the movie has one shooter rather than two. The first forty minutes of the movie deal directly with the shooting, while the remainder of the movie follows a select number of students trying to deal with the tragedy. This is by no means a feel-good movie. If you're depressed, you shouldn't see it. It's dark, realistic drama. That shouldn't be surprising, since writer-director Andrew Robinson was a survivor of the Columbine tragedy. Before the end credits, they list the victims of every school shooting in the United States, through December 2008. That, right there, kind of sums up what the movie is about. To educate, inform, and make sure the lesson isn't forgotten. While I liked the movie, my wife said she's rate it 6 stars and her sister didn't like it. But her complaint was that there were no big names. I don't think she sees very many independent films. It will be interesting to see what other reviews say. I highly recommend the movie. It is rated R, and is not a movie for pre-teens. My 10 year-old wants to see it when it comes out in DVD (because her sister is in it), but emotionally, she's too young to handle it.

I find it incomprehensible that a movie about such an important subject could end up being so inept, but that's exactly what this is. As other reviewers have said, the shooting takes place early in the film, and then we are treated to slow motion tears for the next hour. This isn't a film about the shooting itself, that's plain to see. But unfortunately, it's not about anything else, either. The contrived love story is devoid of meaning or motivation, and gives the audience nothing to anticipate or mourn. The main character is completely unlikable as the good- looking, do-nothing romantic, and the object of his affections is equally vacuous. The film aims to honor anyone who has been subjected to such tragedy, whether they're a victim or a survivor. But the aim is disingenuous. So many details are lifted directly from the Columbine shooting, it's impossible to think of this film as anything but a re-enactment that gets a few obvious details totally wrong. For a film that faces the senselessness of school violence, look no further than "Elephant": it is understated, poignant, brilliantly performed, and unbearably tragic.