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Descent

Review By: Dan Deevy
DanDeevy@TheCinemaSource.com

Reviewing movies is hardly an essential job to have in the grand scheme of things. It’s not like being a doctor and saving lives or being a construction worker helping to build homes and schools without which society would crumble. When the necessities of life have been provided for, art comes in to make that life worth living. Talking about that art and bringing it to the masses is I guess the next step on that chain. So, it’s not perhaps the noblest of pursuits and is not always the most fulfilling. On rare occasions, however, a movie comes along that is so special, so unique and so, believe it or not, necessary for people to see that participating in that process reminds me of why I do this.

Descent is one of those movies.

One in four women in this country will be or has been the victim of a rape. It’s not a comfortable topic to discuss but it’s a compulsory one. The emotions that this type of assault evokes in the victim are traumatizing and can at times be completely life shattering. Countless shelters, victims groups and charities have been set up to help women deal with what this experience has done to them. But what about the women who refuse to seek out that help? What about those who internalize the attack to the point of total obsession over it?

Descent tells the story of Maya, a young woman who loses her entire identity after being date raped by a formerly charming and endearing college football jock in his basement. Rather than report the attack and seek a resolution through the courts, Maya turns inward and ultimately finds her own brand of justice.

Now, just because I said, ‘her own brand of justice,’ don’t expect this to be Enough 2. There is no kick boxing training montage where Rosario does her best J. Lo impression. All of that entertainment world, Hollywood bullshit is the furthest thing from Descent. This film exists in reality terms and is not afraid to steer clear of every cliché that this subject matter could suggest.

Much like the audaciously graphic Requiem for a Dream, this is not an easy film to sit through. The creative team does nothing to shield the audience from the pain taking place. Everything happens in real time. There are no comfortable cut-away’s to cushion the blow. As you watch not one but two brutal rape scenes you feel yourself experiencing it along with the character. You develop an empathy for both Maya and Jared that is certainly not common to the movie going experience. In a time when violence and death have been so sanitized that the casual viewer feels nothing at the sight of it, this movie dares to remind people how horrible these things truly ...