Home Room (2003)

52% of critics liked it
(21 reviews)
78% of users liked it
(5,148 ratings)

American independent filmmaker Paul F. Ryan makes his feature debut with the psychological drama Home Room. The students of Valley High School try to get on with their lives in the aftermath of a traumatic school shooting in which nine students were killed. Even though the perpetrator is dead, the… More American independent filmmaker Paul F. Ryan makes his feature debut with the psychological drama Home Room. The students of Valley High School try to get on with their lives in the aftermath of a traumatic school shooting in which nine students were killed. Even though the perpetrator is dead, the townspeople still want to find some answers. Detective Martin Van Zandt (Victor Garber) decides to interrogate high school student Alicia Browning (Busy Philipps), who was present during the attack. Because of her cynical attitude and dark fashion choices, she is viewed as a possible threat. Principal Robbins (James Pickens Jr.) sentences her to regular hospital visits with the pretty and popular Deanna Cartwright (Erika Christensen), who was seriously injured in the attack. Alicia and Deanna overcome their initial differences and develop a nurturing friendship with psychological help from Dr. Hollander (Holland Taylor). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 2 hr. 12 min.
Directed By: Paul F. Ryan
Written By: Paul F. Ryan
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Sep 5, 2003 Wide
On DVD: Oct 14, 2003
Studio: DEJ Productions

Critic Reviews

Erika Gonzalez, Denver Rocky Mountain News
Weighted by good intentions, Ryan turns a potentially riveting story of two lost souls shaken by trauma into a sappy teen drama.
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post
Alicia and Deanna's journey toward friendship, or at least a truer understanding, is moving.
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter
In the midst of this didactic, self-conscious movie about a high school shooting comes an extraordinary and intense performance by a young actress named Busy Philipps, which elevates the whole picture.
Lou Lumenick, New York Post
Overall, it plays like the world's longest -- over two hours -- after-school special.
Jack Mathews, New York Daily News
Too often crosses the line between good melodrama and rank cliché.
Stephen Holden, New York Times
At 133 minutes, Home Room is sluggishly paced and refuses to lighten up for even a second.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
Though the film is overlong (it runs over two hours), it's never boring - mainly due to a pair of fantastic lead performances.
Ryan Cracknell, Movie Views
The relationship that Deanna and Alicia forge is fascinating...as it allows for a genuine search for truth instead of something that is forced or contrived.
Bill Gallo, New Times
Thanks to Philipps's explosive need and Christensen's struggling vulnerability, we see the human costs inherent in tragedy once the TV trucks have left and only the haunting remains.
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher
Dismal but not disheartening, this tale of picking up the pieces is as cutting as those pieces can be and as satisfying as cleaning up the mess.
Justin Hartung, Citysearch
Its noble intentions are undermined by syrupy, movie-of- the-week direction.
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone, TheMovieChicks.com
A powerful movie that loses some of its momentum by touching on too many stories. It's not always easy to watch, but it's thought provoking.
Ken Fox, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Ryan's tough-minded little movie avoids any sort of sentimentality; nothing warm and fuzzy here, just honest emotions from two excellent young actresses.

Read all 13 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Cynthia S

Where was I when this one came out? This film is a jewel. It opens as a shooting at an American high school has just ended. One girl witnessed the whole thing. What did she see? Another traumatized by the event. An unlikely friendship unfolds, and the truth is revealed. It's… More
Where was I when this one came out? This film is a jewel. It opens as a shooting at an American high school has just ended. One girl witnessed the whole thing. What did she see? Another traumatized by the event. An unlikely friendship unfolds, and the truth is revealed. It's lengthy, but never gets dull. The end filled me with emotion. This one is a winner.
Leigh R

Very offbeat. No real opinion on it, except I did manage to get through it all and I don't hate it. It was... alright.
♥˩ƳИИ &

Erika Christensen, Busy Philipps, James Pickens Jr., Victor Garber, Ken Jenkins A small town is rocked by a shooting at its high school that results in nine deaths and serious injury to one popular female student, Deanna (Erika Christensen). As a detective (Victor Garber) looks for… More
Erika Christensen, Busy Philipps, James Pickens Jr., Victor Garber, Ken Jenkins A small town is rocked by a shooting at its high school that results in nine deaths and serious injury to one popular female student, Deanna (Erika Christensen). As a detective (Victor Garber) looks for those responsible, his concentration turns to a defiant outcast named Alicia (Busy Phillips). With her involvement still in question, Alicia visits Deanna in the hospital, and the two forge a rare bond over what they saw that fateful day. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Very raw movie about two young girls picking up the pieces after the killings at their high school. I thought it was a powerful movie with great performances by Erika Christensen and Busy Philipps. Never does the movie ever lighten up. Which I don't think a movie about a high school shooting should. It shows the aftermath of how those who remain alive are forever traumatized by this horrendous act. Alicia's issues run deeper then just the school shootings, and by the end of the film it touches on them. The movie runs long, a little over the 2hr mark, but the performances by the two main characters where good enough that I didn't mind. It's basically about these two girls who come from very different lives finding comfort in each other in coping with what life's troubles have left them with.
Cassandra M

Home Room deals with a Columbine-like high-school shooting but rather than hashing over the occurrence itself the film portrays the aftermath and what happened to the survivors, their trauma, guilt and denial. *Spoilers* The shooting itself is treated as a foregone conclusion, with… More
Home Room deals with a Columbine-like high-school shooting but rather than hashing over the occurrence itself the film portrays the aftermath and what happened to the survivors, their trauma, guilt and denial. *Spoilers* The shooting itself is treated as a foregone conclusion, with no action footage other than the reaction of an almost teenage SWAT commando after shooting the high school killer. The film has three protagonists; the detective investigating the crime of which no guilty parties are left to convict and two teenage girls surviving the incident, played by a very young Erika Christensen and Busy Philipps. The two girls having nothing in common besides the shooting are put together because of it and the drama ensues. Erika Christensen, though only 24 has been around the block so much that film viewers are pretty much acquainted with her solid and reliable style of acting. Busy Philipps, three years older than Christensen and altogether unknown to me, blew me away with her overwhelming dramatic strength and screen presence. This girl was the part. It's a great movie and it connects to you with its intimate focus on the fragile yet growing relationship between the two traumatized girls. Gus van Sant's Elephant (2003) though good, seems almost superficial and paltry compared to Home Room when it comes to dramatic flair and acting. What I can see this film got very little screen time and exposure - so much more a loss for an equally traumatized America.
Laurence C

Reasonably developping its characters but ultimately rather thin in purpose, Home Room is a convincing but sluggish drama in which fundamentally opposite personalities collide in the aftermath of a tragic school shooting. Paul F. Ryan prefers showing us how true human beings react… More
Reasonably developping its characters but ultimately rather thin in purpose, Home Room is a convincing but sluggish drama in which fundamentally opposite personalities collide in the aftermath of a tragic school shooting. Paul F. Ryan prefers showing us how true human beings react to the horrible event rather than superficially covering the event. Truly, there's nothing warm and fuzzy here, just honest emotion from two very good young actresses. Problem is, besides that honest emotion, there's not much else here-- at least, for the heavy 130 minutes of running time. Deanna and Alicia are fascinating to watch interact, that's for sure (the morgue scene is particularly revelatory), but ultimately, it could have lost a good twenty minutes and still carry the same strength. Not necessary, just interesting... but worth watching, that's for sure.
Sunil J

I liked this movie. It had very good acting and was more about the aftermath of violence than the actual act of violence.
Eduardo C

Surprisingly strong. What could have been a forgettable straight-to-dvd exploitation piece is, instead, a well acted character-driven picture. Rather recounting the events leading to a school shooting, this film chooses to focus on the aftermath, in particular the relationship betwen… More
Surprisingly strong. What could have been a forgettable straight-to-dvd exploitation piece is, instead, a well acted character-driven picture. Rather recounting the events leading to a school shooting, this film chooses to focus on the aftermath, in particular the relationship betwen two girls, both survivors of the shooting (but for different reasons). The writing can get bogged down by sappiness at times, but it is also unexpectedly strong in other moments. The performances are very good, particularly Busy Phillips, and the final sequences, while a bit forced, manage to work well. This was a pleasant discovery, as I rented it on a whim without having so much as heard of it before, and it will be interesting to see if what the director and writer are able to do next.