Descent
April. 26,2007 NC-17A college co-ed is brutally raped and struggles alone to rebuild her life, but when the chance for revenge comes she as a Victim sinks lower than her Predator.
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Reviews
I love this movie so much
Am i the only one who thinks........Average?
It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.
Do not watch this movie. It should never have been made and is a disgrace to all those involved in its inception. It has a basic theme that is not original and that theme is then realized in a way that is gratuitous, unnecessary and ultimately pornographic, and as another reviewer has pointed out with the most damning of analysis in context, a cinematic failure. Where such a theme would once have been handled through suggestion, inference, suspense and dramatic devices, this film simply throws it in your face without an iota of finesse or even credibility. My only positive comment would be for the commitment of the actors who went through what must have been excruciating direction, and for those technical support staff who had to be involved because their livelihoods depended on it. The promotion for this abomination says that a victim can sink lower than the predator: do not allow yourself to sink even lower by engaging with it.
Love Rosario Dawson, think she's one of the finest actresses of the modern era.Descent seems to be more about self-empowerment than anything else. It's the consistent undertone in everything in the film. The dialog is flat, the characters seemingly intentionally bland and one sided. The only consistency is the representation of self-empowerment in the characters and Rosario's journey from self empowerment to loss of empowerment and back again.Pitching this as a rape classic isn't appropriate, and that's probably why so many people don't enjoy the film. The standard 'rape' audience wouldn't particularly like this film, and maybe that's the point? The film asks more questions than it answers, and it does confront it's target audience, whether they like it or not. There's a compelling relationship between the characters and the target audience and while the film doesn't slap the audience across the face with self-righteous audacity it does engage the viewer for what may or may not be, all the wrong reasons.Descent is a good film which IMHO is severely under-rated.
The pace is slow, OK, and it seems that in between both rapes there is nothing that has anything to do with a storyline. Wrong. It does have a plot, but is subtle, one can say a psychological plot that not even the main character is conscious of. This is not a movie about revenge, it is about one woman trying desperate to recover her self dignity taken away by a rapist. The foot smoking scene gives us a lot of clues of this movie's theme. It's about humiliation and pride. She loses her self respect but finds the person who will help her to get it back. The question is if it is possible to recover one owns pride by humiliating the person who took it away. It is? The movie doesn't really answer.
I rented this movie simply because Rosario Dawson was in it. I sat down to watch it with my buddy and 6 minutes in we were glued to our seats. Not because of any intensity in those 6 minutes, but because it was a real film. No Hollywood BS, no explosions, no corny one liners; film. It drew you in slowly, reeling you toward a tragically human fate. Some people think they enjoy film but they are sadly mistaken. They like movies; mindless entertainment for entertainment's sake alone. Michael Bay's Transformers and the like were produced for just this audience. No need to think people, just watch and allow ever stereotype we can muster to slowly dissolve your brain. We'll even place advertisements throughout the movie, to keep you buying our products. And don't forget the explosions, we all love explosions. Here we make the distinction, art can be entertaining, but it's also thought provoking and moves you in hidden ways. Entertainment is rarely artful and even then only arbitrarily. Movie are entertainment. Descent is a film. Film is art.If you still house a soul within your walking meat-sack apparatus, this rape scene is every bit as powerful as "Irreversable". The distinction here is that "Irreversable" was a violent rape scene involving two people whose paths have unfortunately crossed at the wrong time and hell ensued. "Descent" is about date rape. No less disgusting. No less depraved. Just different. This is about trust violation, soul desecration and the scars that run deep. Had the character "Maya" been consenting it would have been a hot sex scene. But seeing as she was desperate to escape, the scene is sickening. "Jared" is a sick and manipulative serial rapist, and it's wholly unsettling because it so closely resembles a passionate love affair. How could "Maya" ever be close to anyone again when even in the midst of raping her "Jared's" slick lover boy facade only ever hints at slipping? She is ruined.The film as a whole is beautiful. The camera work and lighting at times removes the surroundings and focuses everything on "Maya" and the silent inner workings of her mind. All this accomplished by Rosario with facial expression and gesture. The soundtrack was excellent, a blend of everything. My particularly favorite scene being a synchronism of all these film aspects working together; "Maya" dancing in a sea of writhing bodies, something inside her awakening, becoming aware, all set to a beautifully sad Jeff Buckley tune.I don't think I've really spoiled anything here but I'm stopping before I do. Bottom line, I think this was the best film of 2007, hands down. Unfortunately it seems that everyone is so jaded these days that if you don't hack and slash, gang rape, or nuke anything then people just can't be bothered. Death isn't the worst thing that can happen to you. It's only the last thing that will happen in this existence. The worst things that happen never leave you. They are always in your thoughts. When you shower; when you brush your teeth; when you buy a Christmas present, when you tie your shoe; they haunt you. They haunt you until that last thing releases you.Treat yourself. Challenge yourself. Watch this film.