Good start, but then it gets ruined

Absolutely Brilliant!

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Oh yes, I'm not afraid to go against current here..... Garbage xploition First Class. You thought exploitation was something of the genres in the 70's ( specially Italy) ???? NO. THE WORST exploitation is when it's sold to you without saying it IS SO ( unlike the 70's Italy). Very slick easy-shocking-the-bourgeoisie-method to make dollars and nothing else, this is NOT about the real case ( her family should SUE !!) , nor about a abuse case, nor about why a woman behaves like that ( if u want suicide....you should do it yourself. Or does she want to find a suitable s/m lover ? ? ....Look how lucky.....She actually has ! But no, so , what does this lazy, manic, super-narcissistic, ADHS, loveless, unsympathetic, entirely egoistic woman want ? I think her husband has had a LOT of patience with her ( 15 years ) , really a lot ! We don't know how these 15 years have been for him, nor for her, but I know that you cant stay madly in love with a prson specially if she behaves as loveless and nasty as she does. Why does she hates him ? Because he isn't 'wild'? So, why did she marry him in the first place ? Why does she not insist in therapy nd finally decide to ger better eeh ? Why doesn't she game with him ? Or take a hobby of her own ? Or work ? Or help children? ( am I supposed to cry because she can't have her own baby? Well, I won't . )Live or die , is not only the choice for her, but for ALL of us. We all have to heal and live and love. If we decide that we don't want to live, we take matters in our own hands and not give it to a sadist murder to increase our karma further more.... So, this is a terrible stupid film about a made up character ( I work with victims + cutters, so I can separate sleezy fiction from real cases, be offended by me, but this dangerous and easy piece of garbage has a name: Exploitation ....Watch out. Or better: don't watch. ( PS: Bello's acting is EASY. People often think it's hard to play a insane over the top , specially if having (s/m) sex....but I know my acting. It's the easiest piece to play, no, she doesn't deserve a price ). ( My vote: 3. Only because they too must eat , LOL )

As is often the case, films about self-loathing characters do not usually make for good drama. 'Downloading Nancy' is no exception. It's supposedly based on a true story about a woman who's murdered at her own request by someone she meets over the internet.The protagonist is Nancy (Maria Bello) who is married to Albert (Rufus Sewell). Albert is a successful software developer who has developed a golf game which his company has successfully marketed to various bars and bar/restaurants. Unlike most human beings, Albert has virtually no positive attributes (except for his ability to be successful in the business world). Throughout the film, Albert has a grim and dour expression on his face. He has no sympathy for his wife with all her emotional problems and resorts to patronizing prostitutes. When his wife asks for sex, he punishes her by masturbating in her presence instead.Nancy is equally one-note as a character. Not only has she had a loveless 15 year marriage but was sexually abused by her uncle when she was growing up (thankfully there are no flashbacks of that back story in the film). Her self-loathing takes the form of self-mutilation and a result, she's forced into therapy. However, she has such contempt for her therapist that no progress can be made.Finally, Nancy is so depressed that she contacts Louis over the internet. He's sort of a sadomasochistic gigolo, who has sex with women for money while inflicting massive amounts of pain to boot. It's revealed that Louis has two children but no longer sees them (the children's mother no longer wants anything to do with him).Nancy's plan is to first have painful sex with Louis and then have him kill her. There's a particularly unpleasant scene where Louis has sex with Nancy while slashing her vaginal area with a broken piece of glass. These scenes are shown as flashbacks after Louis pays a visit to Albert who ties him up and strikes him with a golf club. It seems that Louis has a two-fold plan in going to see Albert: 1) berate him for his treatment of Nancy and 2) enjoy the beating he receives. It takes awhile before Louis will reveal Nancy's fate—first, he forces Albert to do him the favor of taking his dog to a relative so someone will care for it in the future. Nancy's fate of course is that Louis finally ended up choking her to death (but showed some hesitation first as he made it clear that he had some 'feelings' for her). We soon learn that Louis is imprisoned for life for Nancy's murder.What exactly are we to take away from a film such as Downloading Nancy? Are we supposed to feel sorry for victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence? Is that the main point of the film? Is sympathy for Nancy actually warranted? I don't think so. The film's writers create a straw man in the character of Albert—someone who is so cut off from his emotions that he is the one that is held responsible for Nancy's decline. But are people so one-dimensional in real life? I think not. They have the repulsive Louis, a man who makes a living by inflicting pain, come over and berate Albert for neglecting Nancy. Furthermore, his expressions of love towards Nancy (before he kills her), is supposed to show his 'sensitive side'.In the end, it matters little whether the filmmakers have defined where their sympathies lie with the various characters in the film. They are so bent on titillating their audience with scenes of gratuitous violence, that Downloading Nancy becomes nothing more than an exercise in poor taste and soft pornography.

Crimelibrary has an account of a suburban Baltimore, MD woman whose story is markedly similar to this film in the broad facts.However, the movie departs from that story when exploring the protagonist's psychology - Maria Bello plays a very different character from that of Sharon Lopatka. The film tries to link contradicting pathologies which weren't present in the real story, and which would be fine if there was a point - there doesn't seem to be. Unlike Michael Haneke's, "La Pianiste," there seems to be a poor grasp or care about the underlying chaos of this character beyond the dramatic possibilities. Maria Bello's performance is admirable but the narrative fails to draw significant meaning from the substance of her struggle.While there is an attempt to create a dark, grim sheen to the film, the casting of two very pretty Hollywood stars (Bello and Patric) was an epic blunder. It adds an unwelcome 'allure' to a tale which should remain, frankly, indigestible. Marketable, sexy actors transform this fascinating story into something weirdly, sadly exploitative. Jason Patric is such a poor choice - it couldn't be any more distracting if it were Brad Pitt! (It might have felt more grounded with actors like James Gandolfini and Kathy Bates... ).Rufus Sewell is captivating here and brings a needed realism in his portrayal of the bewildered husband.

I can't stop thinking about this movie. My friend is going to see it tonight in NY, and I wish I were there to see it again. Not that it's fun. Well, maybe like a wooden roller-coaster.Questions bouncing around in my brain: 1. Can a person ever be healed if his/her sexual needs are perverted by abusive treatment during formative years? 2. If we look at this film as metaphor, what does it say about the nature of love? 3. Is the title a pun referring also to Sewall's character? He is dressed in a pink shirt and shows no sexual interest in his wife. Might "downloading" be the process by which we are receiving *his* story? 4. What can I do if I know someone like Nancy? What can I do if I *am* Nancy? (just thoughts...) Please don't flame me for being an English Lit. major. ;)