The Pack

This is a movie that brings home the "burning" relationships between parents and children through the difficult issue of smoking. Who is to be blamed? How can a family survive the confrontation? It feels like a thriller but the message is all too clear! See it with your kids. Must see movie for the entire family. In these times, it can even be shown at middle and high schools when usually teens begin to experiment with smoking. And then, for the adults, it's always good to remember what happens when a "pack" of cigarettes can really "burn" not just the lungs but the very fabric of the family. Alyssa and Gary Bennett did a great job with the script and the actors are naturals. A wonderful and touching movie overall.

AS

Partial to these actors - but aside from Elisabeth Moss's sweet cameo, Lucie Arnaz is the women to watch - playing a tough character, Roger Robinson (Tony Award at 70something years old for Joe Turner's Come and Gone) RIP, is soulful, poetic , Zach Galligan plays against his Gremlins persona, Jennifer McCabe is stunning, Adam Ferrara is moving and strong, Fiona Choi is lovely! Ryan Homchick as the son walks the line as a son with conflicted issues and love, Michael Pemberton pulls rabbits out of a hat, Carlos Leon - Madonna's X is an actor who should have a more of a career, Molly Culver is strong and tough, Angela Pietropinto (The Soprano's, Goodfellas, Welcome to the Dollhouse) is delightful and Tibor Feldman (the Devil Wears Prada) is both compelling, conflicted and beautifully transparent.

When UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School-Department of Pediatrics invited Director Alyssa Rallo Bennett to attend as a Guest Speaker for our Grand Rounds, all the attendees (physicians, staff, fellows, residents, and students) were amazed during the presentation about how this movie was extremely educational with a very specific message. It displayed the dangers of second hand smoke. The intensity of the movie was piercing when the biggest challenge was to prove whether the smoker could be held legally liable and directly responsible for the harm caused as a result of smoking. I strongly feel that this movie is a must see for children, parents, teachers, physicians, and lawmakers. An extremely credible film

The Pack achieves what all social issues films should -- the issue (in this case, tobacco use, and in particular second-hand smoke) -- is contained in the DNA of each and every frame, and yet the story transcends the issue and carries us away in its own right.

In part a court-room drama, and in part a family tragedy, The Pack is directed (by Alyssa Rallo Bennett) with great restraint and a steady hand. In fact, the ensemble cast is excellent, with Lucy Arnaz negotiating the murky territory in her roles as mother, housewife, and murder suspect.

As someone who has been closely affected by the devastating effects of lung cancer, I appreciate this film for standing strong on one of the burning issues of modern times.

"Smoking / Non-Smoking," is a stunning drama with clear and resonant allusions to the film classic "12 Angry Men." Here we have angry jurors who carry into the case being deliberated elements of their own lives. As questions of guilt or innocence are argued—Who is responsible for this man's death of lung cancer, presumably by secondhand smoke?—we are drawn into larger and larger ones about responsibility. Stereotypes dissolve in the characterizations and complexities of the issues, which become an inextricable weaving of personal, social and political ones dramatically alive in the dialog.

There are adroit cuts between the jurors deliberations, the trial and the lives of all involved, along with rich manipulation of imagery. Excellently written, directed and acted, the jurors are strong, carefully etched characters. As in "12 Angry Men," exchanges between them move from jury room to the rest room and back. In one, we get keen-edged engagement; in the other, moments of off-hand conversation that reveal nuances of character. There is a sophisticated use of imagery by director Alyssa Bennett, with one apt and meaningful visual allusion to "12 Angry Men"—which I won't tell. "Smoking / Non-Smoking" is provocative and intelligent, side-steps moralizing and leaves us with essential, inescapable questions about responsibility for ourselves and each other.