I hadn’t heard much about this film, and I was skeptical—rotoscopic animation always seems a bit “gimmicky” to me. I shouldn’t have been. This is one of the best films I’ve seen all year. It is, at various moments, tense, hopeful, uplifting, and heartbreakingly sad.

The film tells the story of the events of August 1, 1966, when Charles Whitman, an ex-marine sharpshooter shot 49 people from the clock tower on the University of Texas. In a refreshing departure from the norm, however, the film never addresses Whitman much at all. As far as I can recall, they never show a picture of him, include him in the recreations, or talk about himl, other than to say that he killed his mother and wife before climbing to the top of the tower. Instead, the story is told from the points of view of the victims and heroes of that day, most notably pregnant student Clair Wilson, the first person shot from the tower proper, and Houston McCoy, one of the officers on the scene who eventually made the final assault on Whitman’s position.

The film uses a combination of archival footage, rotoscopic animation of actors playing the parts of participants, and modern interviews to put together a complete picture of what is one of the first mass shootings on a U.S. university campus. (I believe it IS the first, but I’m not completely sure.) The animation does get irritating at times, but it serves two important purposes. The first is that it helps fill in the spots not covered by the archival footage, giving the film the feel of an action film, and making it as riveting as any scripted story, and it also allows director Keith Maitland to put us inside the heads of the participants. For example, as Clair lies bleeding on the courtyard, we see what she sees as she is approached by another student, risking everything to assist her. Done as an animated sequence, our vision shakes, clouds, and warps, just as Clair’s must have as she lay there, worrying about the life of her unborn child.

As much as the film celebrates those who acted heroically that day, it never lets you forget the tragedy of it all, either. Just as your heart warms from the testimony of one human being who risked his life to help a complete stranger, you jolt with the shock of a rifle crack, snatching you back to that awful August day. But it never feels like Maitland is manipulating us, with the exception of a segment featuring Walter Cronkite at the end of the film that I found unnecessarily preachy. The film doesn’t need it. It makes its point so beautifully that the segment seems almost vulgar and clumsy in comparison.

IMDB gives this a 7.9. I’m right there with them at an even 8.0. I’m almost positive this is going to be on my best of the year list, so be sure to catch it if you can. It’s a captivating and inspiring documentary that reminds us that even though today we might feel as divided from our fellow man as we ever have been, when tragedy strikes, some goodness inside of us sets aside those differences and says, “I want to help.” running time 1:36)