The Fallout – Film Review

Bolstered by new friendships forged under sudden and tragic circumstances, high school student Vada begins to reinvent herself while reevaluating her relationships and her view of the world. Moving away from her comfortable family routine, she starts taking chances with a series of decisions that test her own boundaries and push her in new directions. As she spends more time with Mia, they grow closer and Vada slowly redefines herself through their shared experiences.

Megan Park‘s The Fallout is a movie that starts off quite subtle, and almost wholesome. It’s inviting. We watch the first ten minutes, and it comes across as a typical coming-of-age story, where the teen in question has their entire high school year ahead of them, but the problem is that they’re unbearably awkward. There’s usually some drama going on in regards to their home or relationship life, but that’s inevitably going to be solved by the time the end credits roll.

That’s what we’ve come to expect with coming-of-age movies. But The Fallout is the furthest thing from that story – instead, once those fifteen minutes are up, we learn that this is actually a film about a young teen girl who goes to school, and during the day, a shooter breaks in and kills several students. She must now grapple and come to terms with the grief, fear, and trauma that she will inevitably face.

Obviously, this film will prove to be a difficult watch for many, and that isn’t a shocker. Especially in this day and age, films that deal with such extreme subject matter aren’t going to be for everyone. Some will simply look at the synopsis of the film and check out immediately, which is totally fine.

But, for the most part, I’d say that The Fallout does a fine job at tackling the grief and trauma that one would inevitably be going through in the aftermath of such a horrific tragedy. It was genuinely interesting to see the relationship between the film’s two leads and how they come to terms with the tragedy, as we get to see sort of an inside look at what’s on their mind.

Sadly, the film doesn’t always maintain its firm grip that it demonstrated so early on. For example, the second act bored me immensely, as it seemed to switch genres a bit. There’s even a scene in which the two leads get outrageously high and for about ten minutes, it almost seems as if we are watching a comedy all of a sudden.

The tonal shifts here don’t always work, oftentimes resulting in some truly jarring scenes that otherwise take away from the dramatic storyline. One thing that definitely deserves some praise here, however, is the performance from Jenna Ortega as Vada. Ortega is on a roll this year with this, Scream, and X, and I cannot wait to see what other amazing opportunities await her in the near future.

Despite featuring some jarring tonal shifts midway through, The Fallout is nevertheless a gripping story that excellently depicts the inevitable grief and trauma one would experience after a horrific tragedy.