When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.
Chuck says:
Zach Cregger’s “Weapons” is getting a great deal of press and it’s easy to see why. Not only did the film bring in nearly $43 million in its first weekend of release, an impressive number for a film of this sort, but its ending has left many viewers with a great many questions regarding the children at its center. Why the resolution would create a sense of mystery is beyond me as it all seems straightforward, albeit, abrupt. Of greater concern are Cregger’s attempts to draw a metaphoric connection between his story and the scourge of shootings in our nation ’s schools, particularly the incident at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. While putting a spotlight on this issue is commendable, it comes off as half-baked, Cregger’s attempts to make narrative correlations at times awkward and non-sensical.
Cregger uses a young girl to provide opening narration, insisting that what we are about to see is a true story. This effectively establishes an unsettling tone that becomes more disturbing as events unfold. The core incident concerns 17 third graders who go missing, all having left their homes at 2:17 am on the same night, none of them to return. Coincidentally, they were all members of Justine Grandy’s (Julia Garner) class. Even more curious, Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher) is the only one of her students who has not disappeared.
Cregger structures the film by looking at the aftermath of this event through the perspective of six different characters. This approach is initially off-putting and prevents the movie from generating a sense of momentum. But as things progress, the pace picks up and proves to be a dynamic process. In addition to the Justine and Alex, we see things unfold through the eyes of Archer (Josh Brolin), the father of one of the missing children, Paul (Alden Ehrenreich), a cop Justine is having an affair with, James (Austin Abrams), a homeless drug addict, and Marcus (Benedict Wong) a counselor at Alex’s school.
To give more away would be to rob viewers of the pleasure of discovering the film’s surprises on their own. However, the presence of Alex’s Aunt Gladys (an unrecognizable Amy Madigan) must be noted as she comes to having a great and unexpected impact on all that takes place.
Far too many American cities have had to contend with school shootings and Cregger’s intention is to delve into how a community reacts to such a trauma. He should be praised for broaching this subject though his approach is sometimes ham-fisted, at others underdeveloped. The tendency of looking for a scapegoat is front and center, Archer leading the charge in throwing Justine under the bus, insisting she is the only link between the missing kids and must know more than she’s saying. He goes so far as to paint the word “witch” on her car. (It’s a witch hunt, get it?)
More curious is a dream Archer has in which he dreams of his missing son and sees a large AK-47 looming in the sky, a digital clock flashing “2:17” on its side. The inclusion of a gun not used in relation to the missing 17 makes little sense and only prompts unnecessary questions. Archer later uses the word “weaponized” to describe what happened to the missing tykes, but that ultimately holds little water once their fate is revealed.
It’s certainly possible I’m missing something. It’s also possible that Cregger isn’t being as clear in making the connections he thinks he is. Regardless, “Weapons” is a well-crafted, at times unnerving movie that provides a great many surprises, laced with a sense of macabre humor that’s becoming more prevalent in horror films. Discussions regarding its intent and execution will continue, meaning Cregger has achieved what he set out to do. He has us talking about a subject desperately in need of further discussion, and for that, he should be commended.
3 Stars
