NB Mager’s “Run Amok” had to strike an almost impossibly precise tonal balance to tell the story of high schoolers who put on a musical about a school shooting that impacted their own institution a decade earlier. But while that premise might initially sound like the beginning of a tasteless comedy, it’s really the start of a nuanced story about the healing power of art.
Ahead of the film‘s Sundance premiere, Mager and stars Molly Ringwald, Patrick Wilson, Margaret Cho, Alyssa Marvin, and Sophia Torres visited the IndieWire Studio, presented by Dropbox, to discuss the film’s approach to a sensitive subject matter that has impacted multiple generations of American life.
“It’s a story about young people that are asking really hard questions, and they’re not getting the answers that they want or need in order to be able to heal and move forward,” Mager said. “And they take matters into their own hands by putting on a musical. It’s a musical that nobody wants them to put on, but they won’t take no for an answer.”
As central star Meg, Marvin is asked to carry a large portion of the film’s emotional weight on her shoulders, and she explained that she personally related to the subject matter having grown up in an era filled with news about school shootings.
“I’ve grown up in the era of lockdown drills ever since third grade. All my life I feel like it’s been a very normalized thing, particularly in public schools but also in all areas of life,” Marvin said. “I feel like in terms of the issues that the film tackles, it was something that was personal to me. It’s personal to every kid around the country.”
Wilson, who is also a producer on the film, explained that he was drawn to the project because it spoke to the heartbreak that stems from watching a younger generation of kids grow up with existential fears that he never had to confront.
“Especially when you’re raising kids in this era, there’s a very specific theme in this movie that is something that our generation didn’t have to deal with that this generation has to,” he said. “And that’s what this film, more than any other script that any of us have ever read, does so beautifully. In telling a coming-of-age story, it has to be about what’s present now. This is such a serious topic that our kids go through now.”
Ringwald added that the material particularly spoke to her as a parent of teenagers who have to navigate fears about school shootings in their own lives.
“This generation has grown up completely differently than I have. I have two kids that are 16 years old, and I really noticed it the other day when they read ‘Catcher in the Rye,’ which was always one of my favorite books,” she said. “And they had such a visceral response to not liking the character because they associate that type with a school shooter. And that’s just a reality… it’s not just the kids that are dealing with it, it’s the parents.”
Watch the complete conversation with the “Run Amok” team above.
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