Anjo Decadente

I am of the opinion that this film has an undeserved reputation as "underdeveloped." The better description of the feel of this film lies closer to "stark" or "lean" rather than "limited." I find Descending Angel better in many ways than The Music Box, which explores similar themes (although Jessica Lange and Armand Mueller Stahl are excellent in the latter film). One point of contrast that I find falls fully in Descending Angel's favor is that Roberts, unlike Lange, does not suddenly jet off to Eastern Europe in pursuit of "the truth." The chickens come home to roost messily in the United States, and give the film a nasty political edge I find compelling. I give it 8/10 for cable fare. Roberts, Lane, and Scott are enough reason to see this piece. Some of the scenes between Roberts and Scott are among the most compelling confrontations between past actions and present morals as have been filmed in the 1990s. If you liked True Colors or Storyville, you'll like this one too.

Eric Roberts plays the fiance of Diane Lane who discovers some unpleasant realities about his future father in law played by George C Scott. While the premise, exposing a nazi collaborator, is a good one, the film never really builds any suspense. On a scale of one to ten.. 6

It really is a shame, as "Descending Angel" is a very good film...but by the end of the movie, it degenerates into a stupid action flick. Up until then, I really enjoyed it and wanted more and more.

Michael (Eric Roberts) is engaged to Irina (Diane Lane). So it's not surprising that she is taking him home to introduce to her father, Florian (George C. Scott). Florian seems like a swell guy...which makes it all the weirder when a stranger approaches Michael and tells him his prospective father-in-law is a war criminal! At first, he doesn't believe it....but over time he comes to realize that the father is a monster.

Up until the big confrontation scenes near the end, the story was excellent. But there were two huge problems. First, Irina's reaction AND Michael's reaction to her reaction came off as hard to believe at best. Second, and more importantly, the ending is simply stupid. Despite Florian being a dangerous character with very dangerous friends, Michael deals with this in the silliest and unbelievable manner...so much that my daughter and I found ourselves laughing. Sad...it could have been wonderful...instead, it's a flawed but watchable film...with good performances by Roberts (who, oddly, is cast third even though he is THE star) and Scott.

By the way, the opening credits are very explicit...and you see a LOT of DIane Lane. Odd, as the rest of the film has no nudity at all and it did seem out of place.

I thought Eric Roberts and Diane performances were trite in this film. Most of the time I couldn't wait for them to get off the screen. However I truely enjoyed Vyto Ruginis in this film as always. Scott was okay as well

If you ignore an ending that seems both rushed and highly unlikely, "Descending Angel" is totally acceptable, with a fine George C. Scott performance. Eric Roberts is going to be marrying Scott's daughter, and the movie revolves around an uneasy meeting with his future father in-law. When Roberts suspicion begins to build that Scott was part of a WW2 massacre of Jews, his fiancé, Diane Lane, is torn between her powerful father and her love for Roberts. Although the film is not perfect, mostly because of the flawed conclusion, it is different enough to maintain interest. Recommended for fans of George C. Scott, and Eric Roberts. - MERK