Blame

Well-crafted drama by star-writer-director Shephard is a little too long to sustain itself; despite its pretensions, it really scores best as a lurid melodrama (think CARRIE meets WILD THINGS) and its best assets are its performances; Shephard herself is terrific, Messina bringing a slimy ambiguity to the teacher, and Alexander stealing the show as Shephard's bitchy rival. In the #MeToo era, the inconclusive finale feels like a brave move!

Blame might not be telling the best story in the world--its overarching plot takes a backstage to its smaller, scene-to-scene moments and interactions--but it's an engaging drama about the awfulness that occurs between high schoolers. Its characters feel authentic, the dialogue sounds real, and the cattiness and pettiness and mean-spirited nature of its characters ring true. It doesn't do much beyond that, and it might not feel terribly original, but it mostly works.

Weak connection to "The Crucible", especially the ending where being hung was translated into a big question mark.

I suspect there is a little bit of smoke and mirrors with the title (Who is to "Blame", and for what? ) and the (very) loose connection to the Crucible, but that is not to downplay a remarkable achievement by Shephard. Whilst nothing much actually happens, "Blame" still manages to grip your attention, with a palpable sense of "how is this going to end?" running throughout. "Blame" plays out like a thousand teen school dramas of bullying, nastiness and sluttiness but rises above most with ease.