Home Room

This is Paul F. Ryan's first and only full-length feature. He hasn't done anything since. However, he managed to get an amazing ensemble cast to portray the characters of his story. I don't know when or why the idea emerged in his head, but Ryan wrote a screenplay which later became his own directed movie, "Home room".

Busy Philipps carries the movie on her shoulders as Alicia, a troubled girl; the ones we always see in television series. With dark hair and black clothes; a package of cigarettes in the pocket, weird look and disturbing eyes (with makeup, of course). An event has occurred at her school; a shooting. Some students have died, and she saw everything. Now Detective Martin Van Zandt (Victor Garber) is investigating the case, and, as expected, Alicia is a suspect. But the shooting is just the genesis; the movie is not about the shooting.

Lying in bed in a hospital room is Deanna Cartwright (Erika Christensen). She is one of the survivors of the hospital. The script establishes a bond between them, by the school Principal (James Pickens Jr). He is helping all the students to recover from the event, but Alicia doesn't seem to care. She's isolated. So the Principal punishes her; she needs to visit Deanna every day until five o' clock. Then the movie starts.

I can't even describe how wonderfully written I think the movie is. I can identify with the characters and the situations they live; I like reality. These things could happen to anyone. And the things they say are totally understandable. They're growing up and trying to deal with things they haven't experienced; they're doing their best. Without knowing it, Alicia (when she visits Deanna for the first time) and Deanna (when she sees Alicia standing in front of her) are commencing a journey of that will define their personalities and ideas for the next step in life; after high school.

The director leads Christensen and Philipps through their roles very well. Look the contrast between them. Deanna seems naive and with plain thoughts; no complexity inside of her mind. When Alicia enters her room and sees tons of flowers she asks: "Who has brought them?". "Many people", Deanna answers; although some days later we learn they're from her parents, who come every week. The parental figures are all well represented, but are not as important as their sons' characters. Deanna is lonely. Alicia seems mature and violent; smoking cigarettes and talking roughly. But after two days of visiting, she finds herself coming back to the hospital every day; even sleeping in Deanna's room all night. When they both have a fight afterwards, I believe Deanna says: "Why do you keep coming back?". Alicia is lonely too.

The ending of the movie, without ruining it, comes a bit disappointing; it's something I wasn't waiting for. It eliminates some of the strength the movie has. The revelation comes totally unnecessary; ruining the logical climax the movie could have had. It was an excellent script anyway; and an excellent direction. A damn fine movie.

When it comes to Erika Christensen, this was the role she needed to fly higher. Her role in "Traffic" was impressing, but this was the big step; the main role. Maybe not many had the chance to see her in this film, and that's a pity. She hasn't made one false move since then. She has even come out with good performances in awful movies. On the other hand, Busy Philipps, who proved to be very promising in this movie (what a transformation), hasn't got many opportunities for other roles.

The same I say about Paul F. Ryan (in directing, of curse), and I expect he is sitting now in his computer finishing his new script; I'm waiting for his next movie. I'm hoping the best for all of them.

I was up late flipping cable channels one night and ran into this movie from about 10 minutes into the start - every time I even thought going to bed, something kept on telling me to keep on watching it even though it was way way way past my bedtime.

This movie could have been another easy slam dunk anti-gun film, but instead they chose to examine the aftereffects of the shootings. And even better, the movie kept on with the real life - just when you think they are going to take the easy and obviously contrived way out, a twist comes along and changes the whole outlook of the movie. This film not only doesn't follow the formula, it shows how other events often lead up to and/or affect what happens afterwards.

I only wish the filmmakers had explored the issues around anti-depressant drugs more - the kids from Columnbine who did the shootings were on them for years and it was frightening to watch the way Deanna popped them every time the nightmares started. Up until recently they were dispensing the stuff like candy and only now do they even begin to understand what long term effects the drugs have. It was very refreshing to see that the mental illness aspect of the story was given quite a bit of film, having a relative who suffers from a mental illness, I can say that the movie was dead nuts on in every aspect of mental illnesses. Bravo to the director and writer who obviously did their homework on those issues. And for those who think certain things couldn't happen in a hospital (I don't want to tell any particulars), you're dead wrong on that too - I've been there. The script was so real it was amazing.

Go BUY this film and show it to your teenage kids before it's too late. Someday they'll thank you for it.

Written, directed, and produced by Paul F. Ryan, "Home Room" turned out to be quite a surprisingly terrific movie, with a storyline that could easily be ripped right out of the headlines modern society.Although Paul F. Ryan career consists of only a few movies, his direction of this movie was very nicely done, with a sincere and compelling story told without the need for over dramatization or pointless gore and special effects. Busy Philipps portrayal of the emotionally damaged "outsider" Alicia, who both witnessed and survived unharmed the fatal shootings, is intensely compelling and believable. This movie is wonderfully carried by Busy Philipps, in what could easily be considered her most impressive performance to date.

"Home Room" came as a total surprise. Not having a clue as to what it was all about, it paid off big time because it doesn't hold any punches and what we see is how lives are changed by the act of a disgruntled young man who decided to victimize his class mates, who are the innocent victims of his rash actions.

Paul Ryan, the director, who is working and editing his own material, is a talented man who is rewarded by some amazing acting all around by his cast.

Alicia Browning is an older girl who is trying to graduate high school. She has been away a couple of years and doesn't seem to be in the same wave length of the other students. For one, she is a rebel with a punk look, lots of makeup and a mouth that will cut anyone who dares to come near her orbit. Alicia was among the students in the home room where nine students have died, supposedly killed by her boyfriend. Alicia, we realize, is a wounded girl who has gone through a terrible ordeal in her life, but we are not given any clues to that effect.

What follows is the aftermath of the tragedy, as it concentrates on a young woman who has survived it. Deanna Cartwright is a wealthy teen ager who shouldn't have been at the school, at all. When a ricochet bullet hit her, she is hospitalized with more than a wound. She is trying to get over this dark period in her mind but the nightmares don't let her forget.

Alicia is made to go to the hospital by the school principal. Since she doesn't cooperate with the police, the head of the school wants her to see Deanna in her terrible state and perhaps she will soften up and will tell the authorities what she knows. Alicia dislikes Deanna, but in a matter of days, both girls will make peace. We don't realize until the last sequence what really happened that horrible day in school.

Busy Phillips makes an excellent Alicia and Erika Christiansen is equally good as Deanna. Victor Garber, James Pinkins, Taylor Holland, and the rest of the cast play as an ensemble.

The film has an intensity because it's not explicit in showing how the shootings occurred, which helps the tone that Mr. Ryan wanted to give this movie.

As I have read in other reviews, this movie is not about school shootings but rather about its consequences on the people who go through it. And I like that this movie doesn't try to find answers that are simple not that easy to find. One thing I've learned about human beings and human emotions is that two plus two doesn't usually equals four, and when it comes to such atrocities such as school shootings that are committed by human beings, there are not really logical or rational answers that you can find just by establishing a cause-effect relation. I remember listening to Sec. Defense Robert McNamara saying that "it's not that we are not rational, we are rational, but reason has limits". He was talking about the nature of war, and how this was done by human individuals. I think the same goes to school shootings.

And so, this movie centers on the relationship between two high school students who were present at the shooting, one who was left seriously wounded (Deanna Cartwright, played by Erika Christensen) and the other who survived the shooting unharmed (Alicia Browning, played by Busy Philipps) and knew the shooter personally. And who by the way are total opposites. I can't think of another two characters who differ more in almost every aspect of their background and personalities except one, and in the end they end up understanding each other and also caring for each other. But at first things are not easy for these two young women and they do not get along at all. Although from the start Deanna is friendly and polite with Alicia, Alicia does nothing but hurt her and lash out at her with sarcasm and harsh remarks. But gradually they begin to get past their differences and start to get along, despite Alicia attacks Deanna with some sarcasm from time to time. What is more remarkable about this movie is that it stresses something that people usually forget, and that is the meaninglessness of money and material wealth when it comes to dealing with tragedy and loss. Look at Deanna, who seemed to have it all, money, good grades, driving a BMW, etc. but it only took a traumatic and tragic event for her to be "dying inside" and even contemplate suicide. There is something of a cliché saying which says something like "when you are up everybody wants to be your friend, but when you are down you know who your real friends are". And it is clear that Deanna had no real friends, even she herself acknowledges this to Alicia before ask her to leave. The only real friend for her turns out to be Alicia, the less likely friend she could have, because Alicia and Deanna had nothing in common, except that they both were lonely and enjoyed each other's company. You can see how Alicia really cared about Deanna, because even after Deanna asked her to leave and not to come back, she DID come back and searched for her and prevented her from committing suicide, and helped her to get over the sense of tragedy and loss and learn to live with it.

And for me the end of this movie was a fair reward to all what these two young women had gone through together, because they had learned to know each other and care for each other, and they deserved to let go themselves and share one sweet moment of pure humanity between themselves. That is what I liked the most about this movie, its earthiness, because the emotions of both girls were so human, so real, and for me shows the importance of the human side of people when it comes to form a real friendship.