Too much of everything

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

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.

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.

Having just recently re-viewed "Lipstick" for the first time in a few decades, I backed it with "Descent" even though I have heard more negative comments than good from other film friends with tastes as varied as mine.It's interesting to contrast how the unique niche of the Rape Revenge movie has evolved in the past 32 years, from the full-on gore of "I Spit On Your Grave," to the tawdry sensationalism of "Lipstick," to the tasteful handling of the issue in "The Accused." But "Descent," though making some important points, never really offers us anything truly new in terms of revelatory meaning. No, "Descent" is so poorly made in terms of picture and sound quality that it detracts from any significant message it could hope to make --- a message that, when examined closely, isn't that groundbreaking.I pretty much knew the plot going in. What I wanted to see *was* the "descent" or degeneration of Dawson's character. Being a big fan of Rosario's, I was anxious to see the layers being stripped away and her psyche being slowly twisted...you know, the kind of portrayal DeNiro brings to "Taxi Driver." Unfortunately, the script and the director/writer's choices don't provide any sort of believable transition.The biggest point of failure is the second act. It became obvious what the filmmaker's intentions were for this segment of club-hopping, drug use, and obsession with big black stallion Adrian (every white boy's nightmare, natch) from a Q&A on the DVD, but this excursion into Dawson's character is never believably rendered. We don't know exactly what the hell she's doing half the time, what she's after, or why she's doing it. The poor quality of the audio/video again don't help, but the sequence is just too damn long and pointless. It destroys any momentum and investment in the lead character set up during the otherwise exceptionally well-done first act. By the time we get to the finale, our interest has already waned.One point of success that Dawson does point out in the Q&A is that by the end "revenge" scene we are pumped for retribution, then realize just how drawn-out and ugly the reality is. While that's certainly valid, it doesn't make the scene any more intriguing.If you have the DVD, check out the deleted "classroom" scene. This is an excellent 8 minute plus outtake that crackles with energy and provocation (though all verbal) and really DOES show Dawson's slow crack-up materializing as she delightfully vivisects poor Francie Swift's prissy, condescending dorm counselor. If more expository scenes like this had been added and more of the middle third cut down, we might have an interesting psychological study of the impact of senseless acts of violence.As the film stands in the final cut, though, all we get is what we've seen before, only in a more graphic rendering. So what?

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.