yaquidrl
Just watched this on Netflix. From the description, I had a fairly decent idea about what was going to happen. I figured it would be another revenge flick, which it is, but obviously commenting at the end that revenge doesn't fix the trauma.My problem with the film isn't even some of the graphic nature of it, which didn't bother me too much. What bothered me is the pointless use of such imagery.What I wanted from the film, and didn't get, was to understand more deeply how being raped might affect one's behavior, post rape. She just seemed sort of numb and sad, if not depressed.Overall, I thought it was a very weird movie.
Mia Lee
I think to appreciate this film you have to also consider the time frame of which the film was released and the unique qualities it brought to attention at that time. For one thing there are not a lot of films out there that star African-American lead actor/actress between the year of 2000-13. In 2007, 19 (big-box office) films came out, that I can recall. *3 out the 19 films starred an African-American main character (besides Descent). They where Bucket List (with Morgan Freeman), I Am Legend (Will Smith), & 1408 (Samuel Jackson). Descent featured a female African American lead; Rosario Dawnson. While most films focused on male driven story-lines, Descent focused on a women's perspective, focusing on her unfolding after trauma.Descent focuses on Maya's day to day life, never explaining or commenting on the events, rather instead, letting the viewer feel it's passing scene for what it is. You find out that Maya is a shy college girl. A telling moment is given right off the bat in the first scene. Maya is shopping for some groceries and you hear girls chit-chatting about 'boy drama'. One of the girls ask her what she thinks and her subtle response says so much about herself. (Note: Rosario is a terrific actress, she knows how to emote and express herself without words. Through her body language you can really sense who her character is.) Unlike the the leader of the girl pack openly express herself verbally with attitude about her drama, whilst Maya is wordless and reserved. Fast forward to Maya interactions with Jared. Maya holds her own on their date together, whilst Jared is doing his best to be charming to win her over. You can totally sense the momentum of both actors playing off of each other. For me, I could already sense the mismatch and chaotic rhythm coming from (Chad Faud character) Jared. Because its been a long time since Maya has been on a date and her mother wants her to date again, for her part she wants to see this date through & go smoothly, asking engaging questions. If having not seen the previews you'd think this was a typical self-reflective Rom-drama, you'd see in the 90's. But as the date moves forward to Jared's apartment, that's when things turn sour. Maya is lured into Jared's apartment basement and is forced to the ground by Jared. As he rapes her, he whispers racial and sexist slurs into her ear. The aftermath leaves Maya quietly shaken, spiraling into depression. As the healing process begins, Maya through her actions shows us how she re-identifies with who she is as a human being, a woman, and a person of color who survived rape. In the process, she doesn't become her prior shy self, instead in reclaiming her womanhood, sexuality, confidence, you get the sense that she embodies her presence of self more strongly. She starts a relationship with a DJ name Adrian and through their romance/friendship, Maya learns the thrills of social dominance/assertiveness. Becoming this alter self as a means of strength, like the rape/revenge classics of the 70's, you get the same mechanics in Descent. It's builds into Maya seeking revenge on Jared for what he has done to her in an unexpected, bone-chilling, finale that involves Maya luring Jared to her apartment, with a surprised guest (Adrian). As the moral goes, "An eye for an eye...", a rape for a rape, Maya succeeds on her revenge. This is suppose to absolve her of her pain, shame, guilt, losing her sense of self... but you can see through Rosario's performance, Maya will never fully undo the harm caused by Jared. And by Maya exacting the same act unto Jared, unlike him, the action doesn't make her feel more powerful or necessarily more in control, instead there is remorse.It was refreshing for me as a viewer to see this story told by dark skin toned woman. The media is saturated with one type of woman, Caucasian woman, to be the portrayal of all woman kind and we need more diverse representations for all of us. Having this story told in the perspective of African-American woman, brought topics of race on top of sexism. Having your attacker dominate and degrade you for not just your sex, but also the color of your skin, is an added layer of assault. The scenes following the rape, you can really feel for Maya and see yourself in her position. "Who am I?" "What about me, made him seek me out?" You can see yourself painstakingly examining every aspect of yourself, your skin, body, mind, and spirit. You feel sick and doubt your self worth/power. The lost of identity/self value and the steps one takes to reclaim it, is what this film is about. Talia Lugacy, the director, executes it superbly. The unfolding of the film is realistic, plausible, and disheartening. In reference to the time the film was released: This was before Scandal and Deception was on ABC. There wasn't many opportunities to see a strong female lead character performed by an ethnic woman television or in films that wasn't stereotyped or a parodied.In conclusion, I like how this film brings a wide range of topics up for discussion between friends, family, academic/work colleagues, anyone really, about rape. Who does it happen to? We are given the opportunity to not JUST theoretically understand rape can happen to anyone, BUT also SEE, that there ARE many different faces of a rape victims... What is the morally right thing to do after being rape? Can we judge what it is and impose that decision to others?*Films were: No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood,Bucket List, Knocked Up, The Assassination of Jesse James, 28 Weeks, Transformers, The Bourne Ultimatum, Eastern Promises, Lars and the Real Girl, Ratatouille, Super Bad, Gone Baby Gone, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End...
roberttidwell-comics
I found Descent to be a largely provocative piece. This isn't a pop corn movie that takes it easy on the audience. It's hard to watch at points because it is a story about pain. It taps into an emotional core that really drives itself home.This is a story about pain and abuse, not a revenge fantasy. There are elements of revenge fantasies in it, but the real truth is that the story is a criticism of the need and hunt for revenge when someone hurts us. It's a powerful work of fiction. Maya, played by Rosario Dawson, is constantly the subject of transgressions until she breaks after being raped. And then the story gets dark.After watching this film, I was in a deep despair for a few weeks. In the same sitting I watched Lars Von Trier's Antichrist with Willem Defoe. This was the darker movie. This was the movie that wrapped itself up in my mind and took root. It nested and festered and wouldn't leave me go.I strongly recommend you watch this if you are interested in drama that messes you up. If you want something safe, happy, and warm, this is not it. If you want to cry because you have a broken heart because the perfect couple just can't make it together but then oh goodness they do! Stay clear. This is not for you.This movie will mess you up and it is important that it messes you up. This is supposed to be hard to watch. If that sounds interesting to you, watch this flick. It's one of the best I've seen, but I like movies that mess me up.
PassionFruit-Mango
It's pretty bad when the generic movie synopsis has more information than the film itself. The paragraph-long "plot summary" written on the movie page has details I could not glean from watching the actual movie. I found myself constantly backing it up to see what details I had just missed which could tell me what the (bleep) was going on. Alas, to no avail--this movie leaves out monstrous pieces of the story, if you could call it a story. It's like they were trying to fool us into thinking that there was some kind of movie here, filming just enough so that there was the resemblance of a story and leaving the rest to our imaginations. Newsflash to the the creators: I paid to watch you MAKE a movie. I can sit home and imagine plots and story lines for free. And Rosario Dawson? This is somebody I've never paid enough attention to to be able to put the name to the face, and I can see why. She had one of the most artificial performances I have ever seen for a leading character in any movie, A or B. I figured okay, maybe she didn't really want the role, just got a hefty offer for a movie she wasn't into? Wrong. She was listed as one of the producers. Next time you produce something, don't book yourself as the lead if you can't act. If you really can, then create a decent character for you to become. Also, somebody here mentioned the white/latino issue--yes, I hate to say it, but this movie does come across as an act of vengeance against white college-age males who wear baseball hats. That's what happens when there is nothing in the movie to endear the watcher to latino characters. The Adrian character seems like a cocky jerk who is no better than the story's antagonist. As for the Maya character, she didn't seem like a real person. Anyway I'm ashamed for Hollywood that this movie was even made.
