On April 17, the small town of West, Texas, was forever altered when a fertilizer plant exploded, killing more than a dozen and injuring so many more. Not surprisingly, however, through this tragedy we witnessed the powerful way in which a community — a country, really — unites to support those in need through emergency services, volunteer work and financial help.
Just 11 days after the tragedy, the citizens of Dallas descended on Annette Strauss Square to support their neighbors to the south at the Texans for West benefit concert. Hundreds of music enthusiasts sprawled out on the lawn at the AT&T Performing Arts Center to catch Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights, Toadies lead singer Vaden Todd Lewis, The O's, Somebody's Darling and Goodnight Ned — all of whom donated their time.
Credit goes to speedy event planners Matt Tobin, of Goodfriend Beer Garden & Burger House; Gavin Mulloy, of Granada Theater; Becki Howard,of AT&T Performing Arts Center; and major cash sponsor Regions Bank. The organizers also partnered with Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT) to create the Texans for West Fund. Concert proceeds will be deposited with CFT, which will distribute the money among nonprofits whose missions are to provide basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter and counseling services for those affected by the West disaster.
Spotted in the crowd of charitable concertgoers: Maxwell Smith, Nathan Yates, Katy Simmons, Sarah Hipp, Jeff Fryman, Billy Thomas, Zane Aveton, Rani Monson, Stephanie Bradshaw, Brandi Farris and Oliver Smith.
The smartphone age has forever changed how people communicate, including in movies. However, save for a few exceptions, their depiction on screen is still limited to characters using them solely for phone calls and regular text messages. The new film Droptakes a relatively underutilized function of smartphones and amplifies it to create a new but familiar type of thriller.
Violet (Meghann Fahy) is the mother of a young boy, Toby (Jacob Robinson), and also a widow who survived an abusive marriage. After years of waiting, she’s finally ready to get back on the dating scene, agreeing to meet Henry (Brandon Sklenar) at a fancy restaurant after a few months of only communicating with him through a dating app.
Soon after arriving at the restaurant, she starts receiving unsolicited messages that are dropped onto her phone by an anonymous person using a special app. What at first seem to be harmless pranks turn deadly serious, with Violet being blackmailed to do whatever the person wants her to do under the threat of Toby being killed. With instructions not to confide in anybody, even Henry, Violet has to cope with the menace alone.
Directed by Christopher Landon and written by Jillian Jacobs and Christopher Roach, the film is a clever twist on the whodunit, making it into a who’s-doing-it. With a 50-foot range on the ability to drop messages onto someone else’s phone, virtually everyone in the restaurant is a suspect. The filmmakers ramp up the tension expertly as Violet tries to figure out who is tormenting her.
With the source of the drama remaining a mystery for much of the film, different methods are used to communicate Violet’s anxiety to the audience. First and foremost is the buzzing of her phone; every time it goes off feels like an electric shock, with Violet’s reactions (or sometimes non-reactions) selling the intensity of the situation. Instead of looking at her phone, the film displays the messages all around her, a great visual representation of the metaphorical walls closing in on Violet.
Many films of this ilk play fast and loose with the believability factor, but Landon and his team keep things on the up-and-up for the most part. The things Violet is asked to do are well within her ability, even if they require her to be sneaky at times. The relatively calm way she handles most of the requests belies the pressure that is building on her. The film does get a little wonky toward the end, but earlier scenes do enough to forgive those missteps.
The structure of the film requires a good lead performance, and Fahy, in her first major role since her appearance in season 2 of HBO series The White Lotus, delivers. She does a great job of vacillating back-and-forth between absolute terror and normal pleasantness to maintain the illusion of Violet enjoying the date. Sklenar (It Ends With Us) provides a handsome face and a demeanor that’s just understanding enough for a character to put up with a date who’s distracted almost the entire time she’s with him. The smaller roles are filled well, including the person revealed as the blackmailer.
Drop finds a way to utilize modern technology in a way few other movies have done before. It may or may not hold up well on a rewatch, but the setup of the story, the execution of the scenes at the restaurant, and the acting of the people charged with bringing it to life all combine for a great one-time experience.
