Review of April Showers (2009) by Dan B — 28 Jun 2009

A compelling, indie drama with an interesting non-linear style of storytelling about a shooting at an average American high school. One fact of note here is that the writer and director of this film, Andrew Robinson, is himself a Columbine graduate and a survivor of the tragic 1999 shooting. Robinson's unique perspective lends a deeply personal and jarringly real quality to the film. This film is also no doubt a landmark in Robinson's own journey to cope in some way with the unfathomably traumatic event that happened to him ten years prior.

The story focuses on the survivors of the shooting rather than on the shooter himself. After all, these were the people Robinson likely knew and understood best. The non-linear format allows us to escape the confines of the horrific event going on at the school that day and get to know the characters and their struggles. We get a glimpse at the unimaginable aftermath that these survivors, like Robinson, must now live and deal with. Much of the film centers around one survivor in particular, a boy named Sean. Sean is left to cope with the horror he witnesses that day as well as the loss of close friends.

Something I personally connected with is the idea that you always think there will be more time. Sean's time with his friend April was cut short, and he was left with unfinished business that will never be truly resolved.

I found this movie to be bold, emotional, captivating, awakening, and provokative. It's one I'd recommend, and one I won't soon forget.