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86 Melrose Avenue

An ex-marine with PTSD storms into a gallery, taking hostages and forcing them to confront their complex past and looming mortality, as time ticks by. An ex-marine with PTSD storms into a gallery, taking hostages and forcing them to confront their complex past and looming mortality, as time ticks by. An ex-marine with PTSD storms into a gallery, taking hostages and forcing them to confront their complex past and looming mortality, as time ticks by.

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• Anastasia Antonia
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• 10 wins & 9 nominations

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86 Melrose Avenue

By Kate Beacom | August 20, 2021

86 Melrose Avenue  is a film about trauma packaged as a hostage thriller. Written and directed by Lili Matta, the film opens on Travis (Dade Elza), covered in blood, running from the police. Radio chatter warns that he is “armed and dangerous.” Then we flashback to an hour earlier when Travis and his wife Madeline (Kambra Potter) were entertaining a guest. The guest, Dallas (Jake Red), brings up Travis’s time in the military. He pushes the host with his opinions about military occupation and sacrifice. He asks to hear some “crazy stories” Travis has from his time in the armed forces. Travis snaps and shoots Dallas.

At the same time, several people congregate at the titular address. It is an art gallery, opened now as the owners wish to show art critics, attendees, and press photographer Nadia’s (Anastasia Antonia) latest exhibit. Now, back in the present, Travis is on the run and ducks into the gallery and holds all the patrons hostage. The police eventually show up and attempt to talk him down.

The most compelling part of  86 Melrose Avenue  is its focus on each character’s history. For example, in the moments when Travis was screaming at his hostages about how they don’t understand his pain, Matta includes flashbacks to illustrate how each of us carries some kind of unbearable pain. This focus on everyone’s trauma gives the proceedings a certain gravity that would be missing otherwise.

“… Travis is on the run and ducks into the gallery, and holds all the patrons hostage .”

The film poses a lot more questions than it answers, but not in a good way. Matta’s script introduces so many possible themes that it’s hard to know which to focus on, especially because very little ever comes back around. The location of the art gallery is arbitrary, which poses the unfortunate question, “why is this even happening?” The characters often stop to discuss the photographs and their meaning, but the critiques and observations about art and expression never line up with anything else the filmmaker seems to be trying to say.

There is something missing too about the different ways conflict in the Middle East runs through  86 Melrose Avenue . Matta is Lebanese, as is Nadia. At the opening, Nadia meets Avi (Gregory Zarian), an Israeli who calls her “neighbor” and tries flirting with her. They talk briefly about Israel’s attack on Lebanon, and we later see a flashback where Avi’s father beats him for refusing to serve in the IDF. These themes come up enough to feel like it is meant to be building to something, but we never get there. It feels more than coincidental that Travis would be a veteran of US wars in the Middle East and that there is friction between Nadia and Avi about their home countries. However, Matta never materializes these connections, nor the shared trauma of these characters, in a meaningful way.

The film’s resolution is a long sequence of police questioning that begs the audience to have many questions. Why are these hostages being grilled about their relationships with each other? Why are the cops bringing up the art gallery owners’ drug use? Why does any of this matter?

I can see that Matta had a vision, but the filmmaker never decides on a message. For example,  86 Melrose Avenue  ends with a statistic about gun violence in America which was confusing because the themes throughout seemed to be PTSD in veterans or the impact of trauma, especially in people like Nadia, who grew up in warzones. I spent most of the movie wondering what the writer/director’s intention was, and the inclusion of the statistic hammered home for me that Matta had a lot she wanted to say but wasn’t able to make it coherent.

86 Melrose Avenue (2021)

Directed and Written:

Starring: Dade Elza, Kambra Potter, Anastasia Antonia, Gregory Zarian, Jake Red, etc.

Movie score: 5.5/10

"…Matta had a vision..."

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86 Melrose Avenue Reviews

I spent most of the movie wondering what the writer/director's intention was, and the inclusion of the statistic hammered home for me that Matta had a lot she wanted to say but wasn't able to make it coherent.

Full Review | Original Score: 5.5/10 | Aug 20, 2021

Lili Matta's tale of an Iraq War vet with PTSD takes some grand loops on a small budget, but never really finds the pulse (or soul) of its troubled protagonist.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Apr 30, 2021

Concentrating on emotional storytelling instead of over the top action sequences makes this movie more engaging than similar fare.

Full Review | Apr 22, 2021

Cringe-worthy

Full Review | Original Score: 1/4 | Apr 10, 2021

• What To Watch

Thursday, April 22, 2021

86 melrose avenue review: a large diverse hostage situation.

Release date: April 20, 2021 Running time: 84 minutes Written and Directed By:  Lili Matta Starring: Dada Elza, Jim O'Heir,  Anastasia Antonia, Gregory Zarian, Terri Ivens, Langstone Fishburne, Michael Polak, Andy Evans, Richard Sabine, Helen Kennedy, and Gary Sturm 

A diverse group of people at a gallery opening is taken hostage by an ex-Marine suffering with PTSD and forced to confront their cultural differences, their pasts, and their looming mortality as time ticks away.

However, the problem with 86 Melrose Avenue is that the central conflict feels contrived.  It escalates too quickly, with a character change occurring so abruptly that it just feels unrealistic.  And that character goes from someone who appears to care about other people to someone who then causes harm and uses derogatory terms; it just felt like such a shift that it was not believable.  And this led me to not feel much sympathy for him.  The movie tries to connect his turn to previous events, but this fell flat for me.  That is not to say that the acting was bad.  Overall, the acting was good with a few lines that had forced delivery; but the story and characters just did not connect with me.  

The film tried to incorporate a cycle of violence and surprising revelations, but the overall situation hurt my connection to the characters.  And the backstory sections felt like quick flashes rather than fully developing the characters.  Some of the stories were interesting and others again felt contrived.  That being said, the movie did take place in multiple locations with both a diverse cast and diverse locales, something that is surprising for an indie film.  And although the film bills itself as an action movie, there really isn't much action.  It is more of a hostage situation with limited actual action and lots of conversation.  But if you do stay for the entire film, it does have some interesting story shifts and ties up some of the plot threads in the end.

86 Melrose Avenue has a large, diverse cast and complex backstory, but the underlying situation did not have the emotional impact that I expected. 

Pass on it.

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In Theaters and Digital

86 melrose avenue - movie review.

BANG! BANG!   Shots ARE fired!

Travis ( Dade Elza ) is having a bad, bad, very bad night.  And it is about to get worse.  He blindly runs and stumbles down the busy Los Angeles boulevard.  Something has happened.  He’s BLOODY and sirens are non-stop in the background.  His world has been torn asunder just like the t-shirt he’s wearing.  The night around him is full of passing cars and flashing sirens.  The only thing he seems to have left is the gun he is trying to hide in his shirt.

And ALREADY we are nervous.  There is something unhinged about his very nature.  What is he going to do?

Because when that gun is pulled out, he’s at 86 Melrose Avenue and looking at an unsuspecting group of people he will now refer to as his HOSTAGES .  Gulp. 

86 Melrose Avenue is an art gallery and, more than that, it is where this ex-Marine, suffering from PTSD, is going to take a diverse group of people hostage.  These people, as we soon find out, aren’t what you would call angels and, truthfully, everyone here is a victim of some sort.  They all have their demons - whether it be from drug addiction, PTSD, or stark cultural differences - and here, inside 86 Melrose Avenue, is where they ALL will face their own mortality. 

But, first, we have to step back and set up the dramatic chess pieces as Madeline ( Kambra Potter ) and Dallas ( Jake Red ) break bed with Travis.  This pause to develop the backstory gives us a chance to meet and greet all the guests and the workers within the art gallery as their stories are introduced and REFINED .  There is a reason for it all and, truly, 86 Melrose Avenue delivers on multiple fronts as (a) the audience will actually like the people at the center of the drama and (b) the gun violence has a point.  

Co-starring Anastasia Antonia, Gregory Zarian, Terri Ivens, Langstone Fishburne, Michael Polak, Andy Evans, Richard Sabine, Helen Kennedy , and Gary Sturm , Matta ’s film - while not perfect - is ON POINT in its delivery of a cautionary tale concerning mental health and gun violence here in America.  We have issues addressing both . . . something that this flick has NO PROBLEM dealing with.

86 Melrose Avenue is now streaming courtesy of October Coast and, honestly, we are the TARGETS .

MPAA Rating: Unrated. Runtime: 94 mins Director : Lili Matta Writer: Lili Matta Cast: Dade Elza, Anastasia Antonia, Gregory Zarian Genre : Drama | Thriller Tagline: A Lili Matta Film Memorable Movie Quote: Distributor: Gravitas Ventures Official Site: Release Date: April 20, 2021 (Streaming) DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: Synopsis : A diverse group of people at a gallery opening is taken hostage by an ex-Marine suffering with PTSD and forced to confront their cultural differences, their pasts, and their looming mortality as time ticks away.

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Film Review: While “86 Melrose Avenue” Might Have Impact, It’s Still Clunky Cinema

Written by: Adam Vaughn | April 19th, 2021

86 Melrose Avenue (Lili Matta, 2020) 2 out of 4 stars.

Lili Matta’s second feature film certainly comes with an explosion of story to tell, tackling timely material corresponding to today’s social issues of mental illness, terrorism and the diverse society we embody as a human race. 86 Melrose Avenue has plenty to say, but in the midst of her gripping story, director Matta oversees major cinematic moments, including the script and editing, that drag down an otherwise momentous concept.

86 Melrose Avenue is about Travis (Dade Elsa), a PTSD-ridden veteran returning from the war in Afghanistan who, after murdering a friend of his wife, holds the people in an art gallery hostage. As the police close in, Travis starts to converse with the various hostages, learning who they are and how they came to be who they are. The longer Travis holds them prisoner, the more and more the characters of the story start to unfurl.

As stated, 86 Melrose Avenue is strongest when it hones in on the themes of veteran hardships, mental illness and trauma. Elsa’s performance as Travis is relatable, and by the end of the story, we feel a strong sense of pity and compassion towards him. On top of that, many of the characters in the story have backgrounds that fully align with the theme, contributing to tonal unity. Director Matta finds clever comparisons in showing us the artist’s life and the trauma of a mentally ill soldier.

While the film has many unique ideas, the writing of said story gets very choppy, jumping around and disorienting the audience. Not one single flashback goes without feeling entirely unmerited and out of place, which is a shame considering the strong weight the scenes could otherwise have. As the film begins, much of the expository dialogue makes you want to turn the film off then and there, if not for the looming promise of that beginning. Muddy conversation and awkward moments are used to fill the calm before the storm, and once the thrills ensue, we’re swiftly met with the uncomfortable insertions of flashbacks that change the moments of the film entirely.

While 86 Melrose Avenue has a lot of promising potential, the film misses the mark by forgetting many basic cinematic necessities, including a believably seamless sound design (which the films often lacks), solid writing backed up by at least believable acting, and a focus on a single idea. Instead, 86 Melrose Avenue seems to want to balance the stories of Travis side-by-side with every other character in the script, which leads to its narrative downfall.

Adam Vaughn

Adam Vaughn is a graduate of the Film & Moving Image program at Stevenson University, with a focus in Cinematography and Production. He also has a minor in Theater and Media Performance. Adam works as a freelance photographer and videographer, focusing his craft on creating compelling photographic and cinematic imagery. Adam is excited to join the Film Festival Today team and explore the world of cinema and visual arts.

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Movie Review: ’86 Melrose Avenue’

Litzy Tamariz

[READ FULL BIO]

Visually Stunning Movie Podcast

86 Melrose Avenue – Review

86 melrose avenue.

84 Minutes, Not Rated

Written and Directed by Lili Matta

Your email:

A diverse group of people at a gallery opening is taken hostage by an ex-Marine suffering with PTSD and forced to confront their cultural differences, their pasts, and their looming mortality as time ticks away.

It’s not easy to pull off a veteran story if you’re not a vet. It’s even harder to pull off a combat veteran’s PTSD story.

Now, writer/director Lili Matta shares a cultural background with the photographer whose exhibit opening is the setting for our little hostage situation, which gives her a grounding in the trauma of a war-torn society, which, if anything, sets the bar a bit higher for the execution of said emotionally-based story.

As expected, each of the hostages bears the scars of some past emotional trauma, some more severs than others. Some violent, some personal, some societal.

There is an old feel-good adage that says, basically, “Always remember that everyone is going through something you don’t know about. Treat them accordingly.”

This film is a cinematic version of that.

The Lebanese photographer (and former ER nurse) doesn’t like the Israeli attendee because of their cultural history. The Israeli whose wife was shot and killed by a 17-year-old kid. The art critic whose depressed son shot himself in from of him.

And the list goes on.

All of who find themselves at the mercy of Travis, the veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, who witnessed not only the run-of-the-mill trauma of war, but who witnessed a horrific act by his Commanding Officer during an “enhanced interrogation” of a local.

Everyone has a story.

By the end of the film, the police have breached the gallery, taken everyone into custody, but seem more concerned with the interpersonal dynamics of the attendees rather than the hostage crisis itself.

Out-of-context comments, ridiculous leaps of logic (illogic?), most of the PTSD clichés, along with some not-great dialogue (“He witnessed the violence of war”), and the most memorable thing about the film becomes the seemingly boundless ineptitude of law-enforcement.

After the cops are done with their inane lines of questioning, the film kind of meanders its way to its conclusion, where our heroine rethinks her explicit distrust of her Israeli co-hostage, whose overtures of acceptance and romance are blatant and predictable, as is her ultimate choice.

Finally, after preaching PTSD throughout its run-time, the film fades to black with the following end card: “Every day in America, 100 people are killed and hundreds are injured as a result of gun violence.”

So the now clearly stated message of the film is not PTSD, but gun violence. And while there has been a seeming uptick in the United States of late with regards to gun violence, this sudden shift in messaging undercuts the entirety of the film’s mostly ham-handed treatment of those who suffer from PTSD.

In the end, while the film tries to make some truly valuable points, it ultimately collapses under the weight of its own pretension.

86 Melrose Avenue will be available On Demand beginning April 20.

86 Melrose Avenue stars Dade Elza, Jim O’Heir, Anastasia Antonia, Gregory Zarian, Terri Ivens, Langstone Fishburne, Michael Polak, Andy Evans, Richard Sabine, Helen Kennedy, and Gary Sturm.

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Indie Movie Review – 86 Melrose Avenue

86 Melrose Avenue  starts with a bloody and battered Travis (Dade Elza) staggering down a street while sirens are blaring in the background and red & blue lights are flashing. Desperate for somewhere to hide, he stumbles across one of the few places that are open, the eponymous 86 Melrose Avenue,  where he pulls out his gun and orders everyone on the ground.

We then cut to a title card, which is followed by a scene which, in another film, might have been flagged up with a “One Hour Earlier…” card. Maybe it’s thanks to years of Nolanesque exposure to the big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff that such a card isn’t necessary, and it’s pretty obvious what’s going on.

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So the step back in time provides an opportunity to introduce us to the dramatis personæ. They’re split into two groups; the clientele of the gallery who’re soon to become the hostages, and Travis’s wife, Madeline (Kambra Potter) and her friend from out of town, Dallas (Jake Red).

There are a few scenes which tell us the back stories of some of the characters. These are quite nicely done and manage to avoid the overly heavy handed way that this sort of thing is sometimes. Other scenes are slotted in later on to give the remaining characters some context, none of which seem too out of place. First glance and I thought I was going to be going down the “how am I meant to sympathise with these  people” route but, apart from one or two, I ended up liking them.

Talent All Over The Place

86 Melrose Avenue  has quite a range of experience on show.  For instance, writer/director/producer Lili Matta has just four titles to her name while one of the detectives who pops up at the end is none other than Garry/Jerry Gergich from  Parks And Recreation  – Jim O’Heir.  Other previous appearances include  Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood , Westworld, A Call To Spy, House,  and   Ant-Man And The Wasp .

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Some of the cast are involved to various degrees, in front of and behind the camera, with the upcoming, live-action, Scooby-Doo reworking  Mystery Incorporated which I will be looking out for. But, to be honest, I’ve had a geek-crush on Velma since the early seventies. Throw in a next generation Fishburne (Langston), and you can see there’s a substantial pool of talent and experience to be drawn from.

Maybe it’s because I had the chance to chat with film composer Chris Thomas , but I was also keeping an ear open for the music during 86 Melrose Avenue, and I have to admit Robert Revell did a grand job.

Mind you, he has had experience working on Gotham, Nikita,  and  Freddy vs Jason amongst others, so it’s not surprising. The score ranges from moody piano parts that reminded me of a darker Yann Tiersen, to rousing orchestral pieces to highlight the action scenes.

So Everything’s Perfect Then?

To be honest, no. However, the things that were wrong were relatively minor. For instance, during a battle flashback there is a shot of a soldier throwing a grenade that still has the pin in it.  No wonder Travis has PTSD if his comrades were throwing munitions to the enemy!

Another minor niggle was that the main set is a gallery run by two gay men during the opening of an exhibition for a new artist… I’m sorry, but they must be the only gay men in the entire world who think that a buffet consists of crisps, nuts, and popcorn, washed down with lager or coke in plastic tumblers. Admittedly the sparkling wine is being served in real glasses  — but they don’t even match!

So those are minor niggles.

More troubling are two plot points…

The first could just be a result of editing, or there may have been a wee bit of exposition needed, but Travis runs off into the night and arrives at the gallery by chance.  During his attempts to subdue the hostage he fires his gun. From that point to the arrival of a van load of heavily armed and armoured police, the road being sealed off, and the negotiator phoning…is about four minutes.

Admittedly, there is a minute for a background flashback in there, but even Travis comments on how quickly they got there!

The second is a bit harder to explain away…it is the argument that kicks off the whole thing. First, I found it hard to believe Dallas was so incapable of reading a room! He kept pushing his opinion on Travis, despite him making it clear he didn’t want to go down that path. No wonder that it leads to the fight that is partly shown in the trailer.

Perhaps the more worrying part, for me, was that the fight was between a battle hardened ex-marine and a software engineer. Now I’ve done more software engineering than I have marine-ing, but I was surprised by the way the fight went.

86 Melrose Avenue ends with a card that says, “Every day in America, 100 people are killed and hundreds are injured as a result of gun violence.”

I thought I’d take a look and see how accurate those figures are and, sadly, they are quite accurate. Just for comparison, there were 32 in the UK — but that was for the whole of 2019. So at the end you realise that this was less of a siege film, but more of an examination of the effects guns have on this randomly assembled group of people and how their lives are affected.

Well worth a look if you get the chance.

Movie Grade: B

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Movie Review: Taking a Shot at 86 Melrose Avenue

Posted by Melissa Arditti | Apr 19, 2021 | Movie Reviews , Movies

In 86 Melrose Avenue, filmmaker, Lili Matta tells the story of an ex-marine on the brink of a breakdown after an unexpected yet violent episode that occurs in his home. Dealing with PTSD – post traumatic stress disorder – escaping is the only way. With blood on his hands, and a gun under his shirt, emotions intensify and he enters a Los Angeles art gallery opening exhibit, taking all the guests hostage and forcing them to confront unsolved traumas in their own lives.

This movie may be triggering to some who have experienced similar situations, as the flashbacks are depicted in an emotionally-charged way. There is some clunky exposition in the film, but where the movie excels is within the emotions of each character. Some moments delve into esoteric thinking, while other parts really hone in on the current state of the world today. Nothing feels too taboo to talk about from religiosity to addiction, and the complexities of the sociopolitical landscape that more often than not, drives us further apart.

These characters may not have anything in common on the surface, but as the movie progresses, that humanity piece starts to fit together. What does life look like for these people now vs then?

Overall, it’s more about looking at the bigger picture here and that can generate a lot of insightful conversations and seeing the world through different lens, especially once the credits end.

Anastasia Antonia, Gregory Zarian, Terri Ivens, Langstone Fishburne, Michael Polak, Andy Evans, Richard Sabine, Helen Kennedy, and Gary Sturm star in 86 Melrose Avenue. the film opens on your favourite Video-on-demand service starting Tuesday, April 20.

Visit the 86 Melrose Ave Facebook page .

About The Author

Melissa Arditti

Serendipitous Muse and Quirky Retro-Girl with a passion for writing who is known to knock off the rose-coloured glasses and give honest thoughts on a plethora of topics. When i'm not behind a screen, you can usually find me karaoking, eating a bowl of Pho, or spending time with my family and beloved magician.

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86 Melrose Avenue (2021)

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’86 melrose avenue’ review: character driven hostage drama.

A modern take.

86 Melrose Avenue is a modern take on a hostage movie. Travis (Dade Elza) is an ex-Marine with PTSD. After an incident at home, he winds up at a Los Angeles art gallery. He proceeds to take all the guests hostage and have them confront the traumas of their lives.  

It is a worrisome premise that can easily play into pointless histrionics and action movie clichés. 86 Melrose Avenue  does an excellent job of focusing on the emotional aspect. This is a wise decision from writer-director Lili Matta. Similar films let fear or anger define their characters.  

86 Melrose Avenue  is able to provide well rounded characters by providing backstories to each. When decisions are made – even the ones that are part and parcel – it makes sense as to why. Nothing ever comes off as out of character and everything is grounded in experience.

While the characters are engaging, the delivery is not as strong as it could be. There are moments when 86 Melrose Avenue  becomes too cliche. Since the plot takes place mainly in one area in a relatively short period of time, there are narrative choices that may come off as too coincidental.  

This becomes a little more understandable in the film’s closing moments. 86 Melrose Avenue  tackles PTSD, acceptance, and identity, but the main issue is more subtle until it is spelled out explicitly at the very end. It is a sobering shot that will elicit mixed feelings.  

Everyone who watches the film will immediately check the accuracy. This makes complete sense being that it is very sobering. That being said, it will also turn some people against the movie. Which may be just as sad.

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Gravitas Ventures

86 Melrose Avenue

DVD: $16.99

by Michael Sandlin

July 8, 2021

Rating: 2.5 of 5

Director Lili Matta

Production Company Gravitas Ventures

Genre Thriller , Drama

Cast Jim O'Heir , Terri Ivens

Rating Not Rated

Release Date April 20, 2021

Duration 84 minutes

A sort of wannabe Dog Day Afternoon for the posh millennial LA art-world set, 86 Melrose Avenue has high ambitions to be a psychologically sophisticated hostage drama but lacks the acting, directing, and writing chops to pull such a grand scenario off convincingly. 

The tonal discrepancies in the film are so jarringly wide—oscillating abruptly from an almost satirical flippancy to deadly seriousness throughout—that the gravely serious points it tries to make about the hidden demons that can torment even the most seemingly well-adjusted person often get lost amid incredibly bad dramatic choices and misplaced priorities when it comes to foregrounding the most important themes of the film.

On the one hand, we’re introduced to Travis (Dade Elza), a PTSD-ridden Iraq War vet-turned-plumber who, one night at dinner with his annoying wife, freaks out and guns down a chatty hipster dinner guest—a high school friend of his wife’s—for his ridiculous comments about how the Iraqis owed America thanks for liberating them from Saddam Hussein. Shocked by his own overreaction, Travis then proceeds to run to the nearest posh art gallery and hold its eclectic clientele hostage, including the Lebanese photographer (Anastasia Antonia) whose snooty exhibition is inconveniently interrupted by a crazed gunman.

The owners are portrayed not only as middle-aged gay-male stereotypes but also as snotty, pretentious, coke-addled art-world stereotypes. Along the way, the filmmaker makes admirable but ultimately failed attempts to peer into the dark corners of each hostage’s psyche: as if to say, well, maybe this screwed-up Iraq War vet is severely traumatized, but hey, hoity-toity artists and patrons of the art world have their own valid traumas to deal with, too.  In fact, the film seems to envision only one tragic route to effectively dealing with the sort of trauma Travis is suffering through.

The real problem that eventually dooms this well-intended project is its attempt to be anything more than a nail-biting hostage drama: instead, it wastes its limited energies on trying to be a heavy art-world satire, a commentary on the world political situation, as well as a psychoanalytically astute straight-ahead thriller.  Optional.

Star Ratings

As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.

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86 Melrose Avenue (2020)

Genre: drama / thriller, duration: 84 minuten, country: united states, directed by: lili matta, stars: anastasia antonia and gregory zarian, imdb score: 3,5  (379), releasedate: 19 april 2021.

This movie is not available on UK streaming services.

86 Melrose Avenue plot

After a violent event, ex-Marine Travis is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. While struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, he walks into an art gallery armed. Travis takes those present hostage and forces them to confront their pain, past and mortality.

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