DeKalb Elementary

"DeKalb Elementary," Reed Van Dyk - Very well done, riveting, intense, had me on the edge of my seat. Acting and writing were excellent. Avoid spoilers and you will enjoy this one all the more.

The empathy displayed under extreme circumstances is truly transcendent, but the film just didn't resonate quite as much with me. It seemed to me lacking a little in tension in the performances, though I confess in listening to the real Antoinette Tuff in her 911 call afterwards, found she really was remarkably calm. Her words will stick with me: "It's going to be all right, sweetie ... I just want you to know I love you though, OK? And I'm proud of you. That's a good thing that you're giving up and don't worry about it. We all go through something in life." What a fantastic person.

'DEKALB ELEMENTARY': Four Stars (Out of Five)

A 21-minute short film about a mentally unstable young man who takes a receptionist hostage at an elementary school. It was written and directed by Reed Van Dyk, and it stars Shinelle Azoroh. The short was inspired by a real life school shooting incident in Atlanta, Georgia. I found it to be intense and surprisingly empathetic at times. Azoroh gives a more than decent performance in the lead, and the film is nicely directed as well. The subject is also of course timely, which I think helps make it seem much more involving and suspenseful. It's a well made and dramatic short film.

In a elementarz schol, two characters - an instable emotional guy, with a gun, scarrieng everybody, a courageous - cold blood receptionist . His emotions, confuse reactions and vulnerability. Her self controll and precise drive of situation to the good end.

A short film admirable crafted scene bz scene , beautiful acting and wise constructed tension.

The end is just brilliant. The realism is other significant good point , not onlzy for inspiration from real fact but for admirable construction of story, step by step.

Being myself teacher , I saw as very personal incident this story. And I admired the great acting.

This year's batch of Oscar nominated live action shorts is exceptionally strong. Because of this, it's hard to say who the odds on favorite should be for award, though I think "DeKalb Elementary" would not be a bad choice.

The story is very simple. A young, troubled man walks into the office of an elementary school and whips out an AK (I am no expert and can't tell if it's an AK-47 or one of the later models). He fires a few shots but inexplicably does NOT go off on a murderous rampage. What follows is a troubling story about the 'death by cop' phenomenon as well as the incredibly brave woman who helped to de-escalate this awful situation. And, it's apparently based on a real story.

Why did I love this story so much? Well, there were two reasons. First, it was not yet another film about a gun massacre...there's more to it than that. Second, and more importantly, the acting was shockingly good...which also says a lot about the direction of "DeKalb Elementary". I would sure love to see more from these folks.