Parents' Guide to PH-1

With this down and dirty political thriller, Kassen makes viewers ponder who among us is truly "clean." His politician character, Burnham (smartly independent so as to avoid any specific political ties), is tirelessly working in PH-1 to pass a bill that would ensure clean water for all communities in the United States. He tries his best to shake hands, help his constituents, and remember details to make every person feel seen and heard. He seems like a good person who's striving to create a better society. Buuuuuut... As Burnham's secrets are revealed and catch fire within the frantic 24-hour news and social media ecosystem, viewers may find themselves squirming, because those secrets have a level of understandability. It looks bad. It sounds bad. It is bad. But as Burnham tries to explain himself, there's a moment of self-reflection: What, amid our own actions, could be misunderstood? What have we done that might have led to someone else's trauma? And what happens if you're having to make decisions for an entire country?

Director/co-writer Kassen's personal mission is to help polarized Americans respect those who carry opposing viewpoints and see the humanity in everyone, even if our political approach is different (that's the mission of the platform he founded, A Starting Point). The movie's shocker of an ending, interestingly, may undo the broader thought pattern Kassen is trying to activate. But with a quick 85-minute run time, this claustrophobic blackmail thriller will leave viewers satisfied that at least they got something a little different.