‘Tower’ Review: An original perspective on mass shootings

‘Tower”  is a 2016 documentary about the mass shooting at the University of Texas on August 1, 1966. The film takes viewers through the full day from 4 or 5 different perspectives and allows for viewers to get to connect with all of the people that were affected by this tragic incident. What started as an ordinary day for most turned into a horrific day as a shooter took hold of the UofT campus for 90 minutes and rained bullets down upon the citizens of the town. 16 people were killed by the end of the day and around 40 were injured.

4.75 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

The documentary showcases the story through photos, video and radio coverage from the actual day but the most interesting part is the animation recreations based on the stories being told. What we are shown is a version of what actually happened but was not captured or what was captured but from different angles. This storytelling device allows viewers to engage with the people in a way that most documentaries cannot. Because of this, it blends the line between a dramatization and a documentary but I feel the recreations add to the emotion that is felt when you learn what was happening to these people on that day and how it affected them.

The colours in the film are also very important. It is very much a visual of the hope the characters are carrying. It signifies their lives before and after the attacks and it creates this dichotomy between what we are being shown on the screen. In this way it is purposeful, most of the time is spent in black and white but the little glimpses of colour that are given allow for the emotions that everyone was feeling on that day to step through the frames.  Another key way that colour is employed is when someone is shot, the screen will flip its colours and it is filled with red. The impact on the individuals are multiplied by this and as a viewer, you feel the weight of the bullet. Every frame without red you are living with the dread that any moment, the red screen will come back and someone will be shot.

Not only does the red screens make you feel the weight of the situation but it is magnified by how we are watching the story. Compared to a normal documentary where you will get logos by the characters you are watching since you know these are the real people. What this documentary shows us are animated versions of the real people, looking the way they did in 1966. For me, this created a connection because I felt as if this was something happening in the modern day and it felt almost current. They animation style almost pulls them out of time similarly how Waltz with Bashir created a fragmented world, this created the same for the shooting at the university. There is a sense of disbelief but the inter-cutting of real footage takes that away leaving this feeling of dread. We are shown reality and there is now a fear for their lives. We never see a real person and we do not know if this person lived or died on that fateful day.

Every frame is filled with tension and dread. The gunshots create an almost war like feeling over the entire film and the animation is created with beauty but also a stroke realism that adds this great layer over any scenes it used. Highly recommend to check this doc out wherever you can find it.

Images courtesy of Kino Lorber