And Then I Go

This is one of those movies where you keep waiting for something to happen..... and then in the last 3 seconds it does, but you barely see anything, and then it ends. Find anything else to watch, literally anything.

A pretty good film ruined in its final moments. Most films that stop without ending are failures of grace, brains and courage. This is no exception.

NOT for kids. The Language again, gets old fast. Not sure why they think adding F this F that in every other word makes for a good movie. On the upside, it was very thought provoking but rather sad. Get pass the cursing and the strange fear that is there one second and then good to go the next and freeze.

You have two boys, one codependent on the other and parents that aren't there or don't do anything along with bad parents and a lack of respect or common decency of the kids. They see violence as the only answer.

Edwin, the eyes the movie is based on, was a good kid but being dependent on Flake, Flake influences Edwin to do the unthinkable. As for Edwin, his parents know he is miserable, see his breakdowns and know something is up but NEVER DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. Edwin supposedly adores his little brother but NOT enough to stop his actions that they know will lead to disaster or worse.

Flake starts off with trying to poison the school's food but are stopped by a locked gate. So, they plan on shooting up the school. Probably more truth than fiction when one kids' parents aren't around Edwin just doesn't know how to deal with life in general. He has no respect, manors and know nothing about talking to people. As a result, he relies on Flake to function. What Flake says, they do.

As a result, they plan to shoot up the school and throw their lives away forever. The adults know something is seriously wrong but they're too slow to do anything and nobody ever really jumps in to get the kids psychological help.

Even when they are attacked on the soccer field, and clearly being assaulted, the coaches do nothing but break up the fight.

In situations like this, yeah, you know why some kids do what they do because there's no discipline, no psychiatric treatment or counseling. When you're NOT actually doing anything, you get what you have. Everyone knows what is going to happen they just sit back and watch it play out.

This one scene in the end when Flake goes down, you know what is and that's when Edwin loses it. Why, IDK. Never said what happened to him and the others involved.

Clueless families and kids that don't communicate even though when they try nobody listens. What I don't understand is Edwin shows the need to be helped and they offer a socialization class but NOT counseling which is obvious he needs it. The worse of the two, Flake, everyone knows he's disturbed but not a SINGLE person does anything to help or talk to the kid, He's bullied and that's it. He doesn't even ask for it.

It shows that they're a lack of love but I think it is worse than that. Their plans hit a snag when a younger kid talks about using his father's gun to stop his tormentor. One thing NOBODY does is sit a kid down and truly talk. When your kids gets under the bed in an emotional breakdown, that's the key to seeking MAJOR psychological help. Yet, it never comes.

Then when the shooting starts, Edwin freaks and can't do it and the rest his story. As if calling for your friend for help when he's at the point of no return, they have no chance at life now.

The signs are there just everyone ignored them.

There was the one parent in the part that his son came to Edwin to throw his little brother's safety net, which was a blue football, he throws it to the kid and the kid runs off with it and they start to leave and Edwin tries to get his ball back but the father doesn't like Edwin's lack of respect and pushes the boy down and as Edwin screams to get it back, he was showing his kid you take whatever you want.

That's about it to the main event and nothing more to say.

I've seen this film a few times now, very good acting, but the story needed more. The ending was barely seen, as in the final event happens, but all you see really is blur and the voices are muffled. There wasn't a lot of development from anyone, and Edwin and especially Flake needed it the most. Things just happen that don't explain anything as to why the characters act the way they do. Zero Day does this much better, with its video diary style and final scene completely seen to the viewer, but I prefer this over that but only because of its clearer visuals, music, interaction, and less drag. It was good, but could've been better to give this a 10.

This film, dark and spare in the script and the actual cinematographic light cast on its main characters, succeeds in getting the viewer inside every character.

It makes clear the gnarly inchoate incompetence and pain of being thirteen year-old boys, friends since kindergarten, unsuccessful in 'socializing' in middle school.

Clear also is the wide gap parents try to bridge, when they try to fix their kids, objectify their children as problems to be solved by programs and processes, instead of wordless aimless love.

"And Then I Go" has a plot, which dimly echoes the Columbine school tragedy, but that echo isn't the point of the film at all.

It's about the hundreds of blows that being "othered" inflict upon a young and fragile sense of human worth, and the dark pearl that can rise from being hated or dismissed or being made small, a nick at a time.

It's about the tragedy of blind loyalty also. It's about a lot of things, some of which you will see, though I have missed.

Good movies are like that.