In the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks, Americans experienced a massive cultural shift. For some, it led to an upswing of patriotism and an increased desire for community. However, it also fueled a crusade of racism and Islamophobia; according to FBI statistics, there were 481 anti-Islamic hate crimes reported in the United States in 2001, a seventeen-fold increase from the year before.
Living in Fear, written and directed by four-time Oscar-qualified filmmaker Kayvon Derak-Shanian, places the audience directly in this tumultuous period of history. The film opens on September 14, 2001, as Reza Ameri (Arash Mokhtar, House of Cards) sits in his car speaking to someone hidden by the camera. The language he speaks is Persian. In the immediate wake of the attacks, Reza has chosen cautious optimism; he explains that he experienced similar instances of prejudice in the wake of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, but he believes that he and his family will be okay. “We just need to keep our heads down and ride it out’.
We cut to July 23, 2002, where Reza’s 15-year-old son Cameron (Nour Jude Assaf) sits in the parking lot of a local market. Filled with anxiety, he finally gets the courage to exit the car. As he walks towards the store, his fear paralyzes him, and he leaves without entering. Cameron has become terrified and disillusioned by the world around him, haunted by the possibility of becoming the victim of a hate crime. It’s been nearly a year since 9/11, but he hasn’t been able to move on, self-isolating, which worries his best friend Diego (Alejandro de Anda) and mother Julie (Kathleen Wilhoite, Gilmore Girls). As an opportunity for romance blossoms and his life slowly starts to open back up, Cameron must confront his trauma in order to heal.
Living in Fear is a striking film, with a heart-wrenching reveal of what is at the core of Cameron’s pain. Engrossing and well-paced, the film grapples with the very real prejudice that arose in the United States after 9/11. Despite the pain plaguing Cameron throughout the film, the story’s current of hope and care for community shines through, bolstered by earnest performances from the leads. As Cameron, Assaf gives a lovely and layered performance; he is relentlessly weighed down by his fear, but simultaneously manages to exude a sweet boyishness as he tries to impress his crush Jennifer (Emily Gateley). Wilhoite and Mokhtar, as Cameron’s parents, are both tender and deeply caring. Despite their family having experienced significant cruelty, Julie and Reza approach the world with love, offering it freely to their son in the hopes that he will do the same.
Derak-Shanian and his crew have painstakingly created a time capsule of the early 2000s, grounding the story in care and specificity. Diego Gudiel’s production design is a standout, expert worldbuilding that makes the film feel true and lived in. The American flag attached to Cameron’s car is a small piece of set dressing unremarked upon in the script, but it’s a perfect encapsulation of how Cameron moves through the world; terrified to be singled out, he does everything he can to assimilate and avoid detection. The sound design is also noteworthy, doing lovely work in reflecting Cameron’s emotional state and amplifying tone without overpowering the scene. As Cameron attempts to approach the market doors in his opening scene, we are brought inside his body, an increasingly tense score fading into the crushing echo of his own heartbeat. The technical elements throughout work together seamlessly to mirror Cameron’s journey, as he starts to internalize his father’s compassionate message: “It takes a good faith effort on both sides.”
Living in Fear is a triumph true to its name, a heartrending and empathetic story of the strength of one young man’s spirit amidst terror and hatred.
