REVIEW: Fragments

Picture this: a typical American diner, a waitress with a southern drawl serving a cross-section of society. Enter the lunatic with a gun, bent on destroying the lives of those around him before turning the weapon on himself.

Based on the novel “Winged Creatures” by Roy Freirich, the film deals with each survivors’ post-shooting rebirth.

The director Rowan Woods uses experimental cinematic tricks and fragmented scenes to show the characters’ attempts at repairing their broken lives.

Quality over quantity is certainly not the order of the day in this film. Fewer characters and a much more indepth look at whether the characters ever reach that light at the end of the tunnel would have created a stronger emotional connection between us and them.

Although the film contains some interesting ideas, it’s a shame the all-star cast (Forest Whitaker, Kate Beckinsale, Guy Pearce, Dakota Fanning) are let down by shallow character development and an unsatisfying conclusion.

2 stars