At the time of writing this review, there have been over 296 mass shootings in America since the start of this year alone. The statistics are shocking, proving that gun violence is as much an everyday occurrence as brushing your teeth or putting gas in your car. Although we will never be comfortable with the number of times that headline appears as a text alert or makes front-page news, at a certain point–regrettably–it doesn’t come as a surprise. The aftermath of one such tragic event is explored in writer/director Hannah Peterson’s feature film The Graduates.
Making its World Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, gun violence is the quiet catalyst in The Graduates. The film follows Genevieve (Mina Sundwall) as she navigates life as a high school senior and gun violence survivor. When we meet “Gen”, it is one year since a horrific shooting claimed the life of her boyfriend. She and other classmates now enter the school through metal detectors, undergo routine gun drills, and walk the haunted hallways with a looming sense of dread, sans the lockers of the deceased that are covered in loving post-it notes and in memoriam messages.
Her world has been rocked by the events, and the closer she gets to graduation, the more confused she gets. She and her classmates have already been forced to grow up too fast, their coming-of-age innocence ripped from them the second that trigger was pulled. If this is the “real world” that people look forward to post-high school, Gen wants nothing to do with it.
The Graduates is a heavy but hopeful film, helmed by strong performances from Mina Sundwall and John Cho, who plays Genevieve’s boyfriend’s father. Equally grieving the loss of his son yet determined to follow through with his commitment as head coach of the school’s basketball team, Cho’s quiet strength is executed so precisely. As he listens to voicemails left on his son’s phone after his death, a bittersweet experience that reminds him of how loved his son was, emotions stir both on and off the screen. It’s a real pull-at-your-heartstrings-type moment.
Hannah Peterson’s decision to start the film after the shooting and refer to it only in subtle ways is a graceful way to approach such sensitive subject matter. Flashbacks allow the audience to understand who Gen was before the tragedy, and how much her life has changed since then. The Graduates leans into this style of less is more, which is a welcomed approach for any first-time filmmaker. It is not overindulgent in its outward finesse or music moments (although I personally would have loved to continue listening to Andrew Orkin’s score). Rather it plays through a more atmospheric point of view. This is a story that requires respect and in that regard, The Graduates deserves an A+.
‘The Graduates’ is currently awaiting distribution.
