“Newtown” is directed by Kim A. Snyder.
Kim Snyder’s Newtown, the new documentary about the Sandy Hook massacre, is an easy film to admire, but a difficult one to recommend. Most moviegoers are probably uninterested in willingly spending ninety minutes immersed in the grief and pain surrounding this horrifying event. I’m glad I saw it, however. Newtown feels in many ways like the most measured, responsible film possible about this topic.
Newtown’s primary function is to give voice to the victims: the families of those killed. Snyder focuses on just a handful, allowing them to tell their stories. This, as you would imagine, comprises the film’s most devastating material. Parents and siblings discuss their loved ones: who they were, their personalities, fond memories. They also discuss how they have attempted to move on in the years since. All seem comfortable on camera, articulate about their grief. There is something humbling about looking into the kindness and strength of these people, knowing they hold pain that most will never experience. We feel this but also see it in the eyes of those more fortunate in their interactions with the victims’ parents. They are often uncomfortable and unsure what to say.
Snyder’s presentation is simple. She demonstrates good judgment in what information is included (omitting, for instance, the name of the shooter). The film is driven entirely by the interviews of those affected. All of these are impactful in one way or another. There is no weak link. Everyone comes across as human and passionate, from the cop who witnessed the carnage first-hand and declines to get specific (in the film’s most chilling moment) to the heartbroken teacher who says that the students gave her the strength to keep going to work every day.
If this was all there was to Newtown it would still be a valid, powerful document, but the film does not shy away from the tragedy’s political implications. It may be divisive, but I applaud this decision. To side step the debate over gun control that came to the forefront of the national conversation in the wake of Sandy Hook would rob the film of much of its urgency and impact. Newtown is by no means a polemic, and the focus is always on the victims. The film’s politics emerge organically from this. Newtown’s arguments are grounded in empathy, making them tough to refute (so rather than refuting them, conspiracy theorists have been brigading the film’s IMDb page and YouTube trailer, calling the film “a mockumentary.” Just take my word for it, rather than read the disgusting nonsense for yourself.)
At the screening I attended, there was sniffling throughout, and there are moments of Dear Zachary-level heartbreak. Some will wonder if it’s worth seeing at all. I am sympathetic to this point of view. While I am certainly glad that Newtown exists, I can’t quite say that it is essential viewing for everyone. It is a very special film, functioning as an important historical document, a depiction of the resilience of the human spirit, and an impassioned plea for increased gun control. Maybe you don’t have to see Newtown, but I sure hope that you do.
The film is now in limited release, and will air on PBS on April 3, 2017.
-Anthony Calamunci
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KP6V_L6OKgY
