Jenna Ortega's Heartbreaking 2021 Drama With A 90% Rotten Tomatoes Score Is A Must-See On HBO Max

This article contains discussions of mental health and mass violence.

Jenna Ortega is, as of this writing, one of the most popular young actresses in Hollywood with a ton of phenomenal credits to her name — but if you missed her 2021 drama about a horrifying school shooting, you may want to add it to your watchlist.

The film in question — which, to be clear, is very heavy, so tread carefully if you do plan to watch it — is called "The Fallout," and after a 2021 premiere at the film festival South by Southwest, it went directly to HBO Max in 2022. (Bear in mind that a lot of movies got the "direct-to-streaming" treatment during the few years after COVID-19 forced us into quarantine en masse, so don't be deterred by that part.) "The Fallout," which was written and directed by Megan Park in her feature debut — Park would go on to write and direct "My Old Ass" in 2024 — stars Ortega as high schooler Vada Cavell, who's having a completely normal day at school before everything changes suddenly and horribly. Besides Ortega, the film stars Maddie Ziegler, "Modern Family" star Julie Bowen (as Vada's mother), and Emmy nominee Shailene Woodley (as Vada's eventual therapist).

Over on Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of critics agree that "The Fallout" is astonishingly good, with a consensus that declares, "Empathetic and well-acted, 'The Fallout' uses the aftermath of teen trauma to grapple with the experience of grief." (Like I said: hard movie to watch, but rewarding if you feel that you can.) So let's get into specifics now and discuss the major beats of "The Fallout."

As "The Fallout" begins, Jenna Ortega's Vada Cavell excuses herself from a high school class to help her younger sister Amelia (Lumi Pollack), after Amelia discovers that she's getting her period for the very first time. Soon, gunshots ring out, forcing Vada to shelter in place with classmates Quinton Hasland (Niles Fitch) and Mia Reed (Maddie Ziegler). 

Understandably, Vada closes herself off from the world in the aftermath and feels that she can only really turn to Mia for support as someone who understands exactly what she went through on the day of the shooting. Still, Vada shows clear signs of PTSD, even as she seeks comfort from Mia; ultimately, her therapist Anna (Shailene Woodley) is able to help her start moving forward. (The ending of the film, which I won't spoil here, is a serious gut punch.)

Critics like Vox's Alissa Wilkinson praised the film for tackling such a heavy subject — as she wrote, "'The Fallout' is terrific, and terrifically real" — and I have to agree with her. Watching "The Fallout" makes you feel like you've been dropped into someone's mental health crisis, and it's incredibly jarring ... but worth a watch. So what has Ortega been doing since?

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

If you have been impacted by incidents of mass violence, or are experiencing emotional distress related to incidents of mass violence, you can call or text Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 for support.

Even though Jenna Ortega was an established young actor before "The Fallout" thanks to high-profile roles in projects like "Jane the Virgin," "You," and "The Babysitter: Killer Queen," her star rose considerably right after "The Fallout" came to HBO Max. 2022 brought the "Scream" reboot that features Ortega and Melissa Barrera as half-siblings on the run from the killer Ghostface; Ortega reprised her role in 2023's "Scream VI" before leaving the franchise on the heels of Barrera's exit (citing, in Ortega's case, scheduling conflicts).

Real sickos (and I mean that in the best way) also probably saw Ortega in Ti West's Mia Goth vehicle "X" in 2022, and Tim Burton fans know her not only as Astrid Deetz from 2024's "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice," but more prominently, Burton's Netflix series and "Addams Family" project "Wednesday." I will freely admit that I'm not a big fan of "Wednesday" as a whole, but there is nobody on the planet better for the role of Wednesday Addams than Ortega — not only does she look the part completely, but her commitment to the role is inspiringly insane, right down to the fact that she doesn't ever blink on screen — and in 2024, she snagged a pretty well-deserved Emmy nod for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series. (She also was nominated for the same category at the Actor Awards, formerly known as the Screen Actors Guild Awards, in 2023 and 2026.)

Ortega might be known as a modern "scream queen," but I think something like "The Fallout" — a quieter and utterly disturbing drama — makes one thing clear: This girl has range, and hopefully, she'll keep taking on equally daring projects for the rest of her career. "The Fallout" is on HBO Max now.