Downloading Nancy

Something dark looms over this movie: Nancy's plan. For a long time, we don't know what it is, but it can't be good. Nancy (Maria Bello) is a pain junkie, the self-destructive kind: no pain, no gain. Maria Bello, she's good. This is her movie. The way she carries herself, the way she walks and the way she talks all radiate defeat. Maria Bello has a nice, articulate voice. But when Nancy speaks in that same voice, it doesn't matter what she says. The way she says it says it all. Nancy rarely smiles, and it's a pretty desperate smile, mostly reserved for her luckless therapist. Against hope, I found myself hoping for better days, but they never break. Nancy takes off to Baltimore. "Who has friends in Baltimore?", her helpless husband finds himself wondering. He's right. Nobody does. Nancy doesn't. She doesn't have friends. Not in Baltimore, not anywhere. She's not the type. - The script jumps back and forth in time, to unsettling effect. If you liked "Chasing Sleep" or "Breaking the Waves", this might be for you, but I'm not sure it's for anyone. There's not a ray of light in it, but I guess that's what life is like for the likes of Nancy.

The question is, Is this film worth watching? Of course it is, if for nothing else but to see Maria Bello's Indy Award nominated performance. Don't let the fact that it went straight to video dissuade you.

It is not a pretty movie. Watching the effects of child sexual abuse never is. Watching someone engage in self-mutilation to mask the pain is, in a word, painful.

Bello (A History of Violence, The Cooler) was, of course, perfect for the role. Rufus Sewell played the husband, who was more of an enigma. It was never clear whether he was just a jerk who was obsessed with golf, or if 15 years of marriage to Nancy (Bello) just wore him down.

Nancy finds Louis (Jason Patric), someone on the Internet she wants to kill her. They end up having a relationship, if you want to call it that.

In the end, I am not sure whether he kills her or whether she kills herself. It really doesn't matter. It was a dark, twisted film with very little music and washed out cinematography. It set the mood, but it is easy to see why this film would get no buyers at Sundance.

People don't go to the movies to get more depressed, and this one will do just that.

When the printing press was invented it spread media quicker and farther than ever before. Fast forward to the information age where written documents as well as ways of communicating went digital from the invention of the computer and then a way to connect them to others: The Internet. Writing letters turned into e-mails and inked articles went way of text on a blog. This story uses the modern way of communicating and connecting to others but as an outlet for darker reasons rather than opportunity or forward outlooks. And what makes this tale so haunting is that is was inspired by real events with some cinematic liberties altered from a 1996 case about a woman named Sharon Lopatka who went by the name of Nancy over the computer.

"Downloading Nancy" is about a down-on-this-world woman, played by Maria Bello, who searches for someone on the Internet that would take her life as she's tried herself with scars to show for it. Not to mention going to therapy sessions to resolve her long list of deep-rooted issues without any substantial luck. She's married and unable to have kids due to being abused and suffering physical pain as a little girl. Her husband Albert, played by Rufus Sewell, doesn't understand her need for infliction during intercourse, and after 15 years of marriage is fed up with her immature and selfish ways of dealing with problems. He has golf and other hobbies to keep himself distracted, not to mention they sleep next to each other, yet are worlds apart. Nancy finds her guy, or so he says, and takes off with only a nondescript note left over to her husband. The newly met man from online seems the perfect match to give her the rough stimulation she feels she needs. Nancy has her highs and lows, from emotional to withdrawn, giving a torn decision to the man who's now infatuated with her.

Slow, serious, subtle, "Downloading Nancy" builds up by showing rather than telling how this woman got to the desperate, manic, end-all state she's at. There are loose, hand-held camera shots that put you there. Sometimes hiding behind something to give the point of view of witnessing and experiencing it first hand. The settings are dulled with drab colors and neutral furniture to give an oppressive tone without overdoing it and trying to be creepy. Maria Bello does an excellent job of playing a pessimistic woman with more than one troubling issue to contend with. Her impulsive ways make her unpredictable and unlikable, though there is a feeling of pity as she can't even help herself.

This doesn't have the typical amount of hope or resolve that you see in Hollywood pictures, but it's filled with real feelings of emotion that radiate from the screen. The film doesn't have any good guys or bad guys, and it isn't a horror tale as it won't happen to you due to both individuals being willing participants. It just unfolds this strange tale of how the Internet brought these two together, who would have otherwise never met as they're several states over. Though Nancy had stacking problems that were becoming too much to handle, and this was her way of finding an answer to solve it all by including this man to take charge of her life without question. The amount of blind trust she put into him might say more about herself than him. (If you missed 'em see my profile and click chronological for first review "Grimm Love" or the second "Cannibal.") (Also submitted on http://fromblacktoredfilmreviews.blogspot.com/)

None of the reviews mentioned this movie being based on true events; a noteworthy fact given the disturbing storyline... The film is definitely not for everyone. It's about deeply troubled people & is VERY dark & very cold, made even more so by the meticulous art direction, camera work & editing.

The cast is terrific, with a heartbreaking performance by Maria Bello who tackles her character with perfect emotional tone and tempo. It's a tough role precisely because it's so disturbing, and if overacted or otherwise played wrong, the character could become unlikeable, maudlin or self-indulgent. Bello manages to be none of these things.

I didn't find the sex scenes gratuitous, or as one critic called it, "S&M soft-porn". In fact I felt the scenes were appropriately restrained. And there were many tender moments & much pathos throughout the film, including in some of the s&m scenes.

As for the question of why Nancy simply didn't leave the marriage, she herself explains this when confronted by Louis with the same question. This is not the story of a woman with normal problems, marital or otherwise. This is the story of a woman who as a child was sexually abused by her uncle for a long time. And her mother exacerbated that emotional damage by blaming Nancy for the abuse. Typical of many sexual abuse victims, Nancy translated the abuse into "being loved", which compelled her to long for it in subsequent relationships. The therapy she finally seeks is too-little/too-late for someone with her type & degree of disturbance.

I was okay with the ending & am glad they didn't decide to lighten things up & make it more commercially viable by going for a "happy ending" & having Nancy live happily ever after w/ Louis. That would be too Hollywood. In real life, some people simply can't overcome the pain of such prolonged and heinous abuse & end up choosing death over life as the ultimate release from unbearable pain...

~NN

obviously has some talent attached, Maria Bello is always great. but this is just a dreary wast of time, portraying every character as someone to be loathed and exploited so someone could make a movie out of an 'interesting' story. well, i hope they got it out of their systems. unfortunately for the audience, there is no insight, no sensitivity, no context, and really no humanity. which would all be fine, except it has no humor, no horror, no context, and nothing constructive to say about the story it's trying to tell. bad things happen, you sit and watch it, you don't care, so what? 99% of the time, the words 'based on a true story' constitute an unintentional warning to the audience. it means the director and screenwriter are lazy and fascinated by some events they heard about somewhere, so they just throw them up on the screen and expect the 'true' nature of the story to make the audience feel something without the filmmakers having to do any of the work. i hope they had a great time making this movie. it stinks on ice.