Dawn Anna (2005)

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

First, I would like to say that Debra Winger's performance is superb. Having had a relative undergo brain surgery and then rehab, I know that Ms Winger got it all so right it was almost painful to watch.And the last section was excellent (not in terms of what took place) but it showed what it's like to be a bystander/victim, to be suddenly caught up in events that you can't understand and all you can do is wait and hope. It also showed the shortcomings of live TV, with the reporter repeating the same words over and over again - not conveying any information, just intent on avoiding dead air. The coverage of London subway bombings was the same, with an endless loop of firemen in their HazMat gear and a distant shot of the destroyed bus.So what didn't I like? Well, it's more what wasn't there. I know it's hard making a film about real people who have access to real defamation lawyers if they're so minded. I just couldn't believe that four teenagers and a single mother, living in cramped conditions with limited finances, never once screamed at each other or stomped off and slammed doors or stayed out too late or got drunk or any of the things teenagers do. The five actors playing the children did an excellent job but there was a lack of conflict, thus a lack of drama.And why is the film so coy about the whereabouts of the father (or fathers) of the children? I assume that, if Ms Anna had been widowed, that would have been mentioned, just adding to the tragedy. So either she's divorced (at least once) or she was an unwed mother. Either way, why not tell us? It would just have added to the sense of her courage and stamina that she managed to raise four children on her own.Oh, and the scene where all the people line up to give Ms Anna their sick leave? Maybe it really happened that way but I doubt it. How did all those people take the time off simultaneously to hand over their forms? Who was minding the store?The fact is, ordinary people can be heroes and still be human. Maybe Ms Anna really is as she was portrayed in this film, but the film would have meant more if she and the other characters had been allowed to be, well, human.

I selected this movie having no idea what it was truly about. The ending was a surprise and of course drove me to the internet to do some research to learn more about the details that led to the shootings. It's made it a bit more personal and humanized the strangers and the victims. It's always sad when one's life is cut short. It's sadder when you are brought into that person's life and given a glimpse of how they lived. It's a shame. So young! To die so young! To be cheated of ones future especially when you did everything right, raised your child properly. Our society needs a major makeover. And if this tragedy doesn't teach us a lesson, then Lord knows what will.

I, too, thought that Debra Winger's performance is outstanding, on a par with hers in "Officer/Gentleman," "Endearment," and "Shadowlands." She is a master at her craft. The supporting cast did exceedingly well also, in my opinion.My only issue with the writing of this movie is how it is (rightfully so) all about Dawn for the first 100 minutes (with commercials), which is what drew my interest to the movie, but when the movie ends I find myself thinking more about April 20, 1999, and of Lauren, than I do of Dawn. As wonderful as the actresses portraying Lauren did with this role, maybe it would have been better to have better-known actresses portray Lauren, since the viewer was left with the memory of Lauren at the time of the closing dedication to those students who died rather than the wonderful woman who lives on to face the ongoing struggles, coming to terms of what occurred that day. I suppose it doesn't help, my living so near the high school here in Littleton, and still reading and hearing in the daily news about 'Life after Columbine.' Bottom Line: Is this movie just about Ms. Anna, as the title implies, or would a more suitable title have been, "Dawn and Lauren?"

This heroic story is about a single mother with four kids that is threatened with a brain tumor and survives a dangerous operation and side effects only to lose her youngest child in the Columbine High School Massacre.Any normal person faced with such incredible odds would just crumble under its weight or give up. But Dawn Anna isn't just any normal person. She is an extraordinary person. Debra Winger (Dawn Anna) delivers a performance so amazing you feel as if you were right there with her while she was going through all these trying and horrible times. This mother took her daughters murder and turned it into a fight for gun control. She didn't just hide away and let this unthinkable crime leave her hopeless. On the contrary, she is one of the most formidable pioneers for any cause of our time.If this movie teaches anything, that is that even when the fates deal a cruel blow (or two), the nature of a woman, a mother, a fighter, is to never give up. To continue to live, so that the legacy her daughter left behind lives on forever.My Rating for this film: 10 (EXCELLENT)