Fresh off its world premiere at the Breckenridge Film Festival in late September, Kayvon Derak Shanian's Living in Fear takes us back to the early days post-9/11. It's a period that many Americans nostalgically long for, a time when the country seemingly united and where for a beautiful yet brief period the divisiveness that we're experiencing nearly 25-years later makes it seem impossible to ever return to such unity. 

Shanian reminds us that there was another story. 

Living in Fear is centered around Cameron (Nour Jude Assaf), an American teenager of Middle-Eastern descent whose life is thrust into a spiral of prejudice and paranoia during a time when the color of your skin left you exposed to potentially violent pre-judgment even if just a few days earlier you were just another kid. 

The film opens with Cameron's father, Reza (Arash Mokhtar), giving him counsel to be careful because of the new suspicion that will surround him. It's a feeling most of us can't connect with because we didn't experience it. Or maybe we did? Maybe we perpetrated it?

Cameron becomes increasingly isolative, paralyzed by a realistic fear of the world that surrounds him now. Living with his mother, Julie (Kathleen Wilhoite, Road House), Cameron keeps to himself as his mind becomes increasingly fractured. 

Living in Fear is powerful precisely because Shanian keeps things simple. While there's a universality to Shanian's storytelling, there's an intimacy here because we're dealing with one kid whose life has been dramatically changed. He didn't change - the world around him did and that ultimately led to his own relentless spiral. 

Assaf is absolutely terrific as Cameron. He captures that innocence that demands we empathize with him and the emotional deterioration caused by a world around him that he can't control. It would be easy to say that Living in Fear tackles mental health issues, however, I'm more inclined to lean into the film's addressing of the psychological impact of global traumas. Assaf captures it all with a performance that is vulnerable, brave, and memorable. 

Wilhoite, long a dependable actress in both television and film projects, is absolutely a stunner here as Cameron's mother Julie. She gives the film a layer of emotional resonance, a warmth and sliver of hopefulness that adds depth to the story that unfolds. 

Ethan Chu's lensing is significant in capturing the film's emotional rhythms, particularly those of Cameron himself. Costume design by Laura Gonzalez is similarly effective in capturing these characters and how they're experiencing the world around them. 

During this political season in America, I can barely go a week that someone's not longing for that unity America seemed to possess in the post-9/11 days. Living in Fear is a reminder that there was more and that not everything was as it seemed. Shanian's storytelling demands we open our eyes and feel the pain, discomfort, and confusion of those who called America their home yet were immediately suspect because of the color of their skin and the origin of their descendants. It's a powerful story for sure, a story that demands contemplation and conversation. Living in Fear should continue to experience a successful indie fest run with its timely, relevant storytelling and a terrific ensemble cast that vividly brings Shanian's story to life. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic