The underrated Mila Kunis plays a survivor of America's biggest public school shooting, who has reinvented herself into a top New York magazine writer with lofty ambitions and an impending marriage to a handsome and wealthy young man, but with the past coming back to haunt her in the form of a documentary being made, her facade slowly unravels as she finally faces - and finds - her truth. Ani is a very well-written and interesting character from the start, with unsettling flashbacks, interior commentary and calculated behaviour that makes her very watchable, and Kunis excels in the lead role, with strong support from Finn Whitrock as her naive and well-heeled fiance, Connie Britton as her mother and Thomas Barbusca as her school best friend Arthur. The film is uncompromising - the scenes of Ani's sexual assault and the actual school shooting are very strong indeed - with its well-considered examination of big issues such as gun control, sexual violence, privilege and trauma, and the film's artful construction and unflinching eye makes it a thoughtful, unsettling and provocative watch.
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