‘The Same Storm’ Review: COVID Lockdown Drama Offers a Snapshot of Recent History

Revisiting the early days of the pandemic is not on most of our to-do lists, but viewers may find “The Same Storm” worth a look all the same. Inspired by the Damian Barr quote (“We are not all in the same boat. But we are all in the same storm”) that opens the film, writer-director Peter Hedges (“Ben Is Back”) captures the raw emotions of that time using just iPhones and laptops. His intimate deep dive into the lives of 24 characters leaves virtually no aspect of the pandemic uncovered.

Although Hedges enlists several recognizable actors — including Mary-Louise Parker, Judith Light, Elaine May and Sandra Oh, along with slightly newer faces like Raúl Castillo and Moses Ingram — the drama is solidly centered on the pandemic.

Parker plays sex worker Roxy, to whom Castillo’s Nurse Joey turns to relieve some of the stress from the barrage of death brought about by the pandemic. Instead of sexual release, he has an emotional one, sharing some of his deepest thoughts and fears. This leads into Roxy having her own moment with her mother, played by May.

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How all the other stories flow into each other isn’t important or particularly memorable. Like the pandemic itself, a lot of the early details are a blur. What counts most is that impact that Hedges and his players consistently deliver. We see couples in the dating stage, trying to maintain a connection through the screen, and parents dealing with a child who struggles through virtual learning. Those parental frustrations and sense of helplessness, as the vignette featuring Oh shows, become even more harrowing when an adult child struggling with mental-health issues is alone, and the only way to communicate and touch him is through a screen. These are relatable issues, and part of the film’s intensity stems from the inescapable sense of empathy; it’s almost impossible not to reflect on your own lockdown struggles.

“The Same Boat” also spotlights the Black Lives Matter movement. Ingram (“Obi-Wan Kenobi,” “The Queen’s Gambit”) offers another compelling performance as a young woman who participates in the protests against police brutality after the murder of George Floyd, having a conversation with her father (who is a cop) about why she has to stand up. In this moment, she captures the urgency that today’s youth, particularly Black youth, feel about social justice and why, even in a pandemic, they could not stay silent. Her exchange with K. Todd Freeman, a stage actor best known for “Wicked” and “Airline Highway,” balances the personal and political implications of her actions in a manner that conveys the magnitude of the moment.

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One of the film’s most powerful throughlines addresses the untimely deaths brought on by the pandemic and the personal devastation experienced by their loved ones. It’s what plunges COVID widow Dionne (Noma Dumezweni, “The Undoing”) into a depression that their son Russell (Ato Blankson-Wood, “BlackKklansman”) tries to pull her out of. COVID denialists and Zoom funerals each receive their own moment of attention as well.

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Because “The Same Storm” was being shot in real time as the industry was figuring out how to tell stories safely in the midst of such a tumultuous moment, it’s not as smooth as pre-pandemic films. Technical and professional prowess, however, aren’t necessarily essential to what Hedges is trying to capture. Many of us would rather not revisit that period of suffering and uncertainty, but there is no denying the film’s significance. While there will undoubtedly come a time when many more features and TV shows try to grapple with the impact and fallout of this life-altering chain of events — with the luxury of being better thought-out and more technically executed — they won’t have real-life history on their side.

Hedges and his massive cast’s ability to capture the zeitgeist of uncertainty and fear during the greatest global crisis of our time can’t be duplicated. Even with its frequent clumsiness and failed ambitions, “The Same Storm” serves as an important time capsule of how we felt and behaved in the worst of times. As time elapses and memories get fuzzier, “The Same Storm” will prove to be not just a film but also an invaluable piece of history.

“The Same Storm” opens in US theaters Oct. 14 via Juno Films.