M.F.A.

This movie would have to appease the internal fantasies of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of women victims of rape whose outcry for help and for justice has invariably been suppressed and unheard, only then to backfire causing further anguish due to the severe flaws in our judicial systems and society abroad, whereby all our faith is put in this system so that we can go about our day with a makeshift smile on our face whilst feeling what we believe to be 'secure'.

All opinions aside about 'law and order' and whether it's always 'just' or not since the topic is oddly controversial despite the evidence that it is not.. This movie was executed nicely (all pun intended). I applaud the rogue vigilante acted by Francesca Eastwood for her portrayal of a victim suffering and for her very believable no-bs approach to justice - a true warrior of truth in every sense of the term and every ounce of my blood boiled in her moments of contention in hopes that she survived and evades any kind of consequences.

Pulling these moments along was a compelling heart beat themed soundtrack with cleverly overlaid voice effects when the necessary that portrayed the inner psyche reflecting on itself. All sets where also compelling enough too, but obviously nothing too notably being just another university campus.

The big question that remains for me after viewing this film and to which I believe the jury to still be out on is: Is redemption possible? Since my father was a supposed rapist, or worse yet.. a pedophile, you can imagine my feelings toward this topic are strong, but strong enough to commit any acts like those in this film? maybe I am weak unlike our main character in this film, but I remain similarly f#%ked up regardless and I remain perplexed despite the allegation against him being lifted as to whether or not he still deserves a visit from real justice or has the time been and gone?

Francesca Eastwood, is great and a fresh actress, who really knows how to electrify her performances. She reminds me a lot of Asia Argento (another famous actor, director father), in the sort of roles she's choosing and how she comes across on screen. She's very talented and certainly has a screen presence. The rape revenge plot has been done over and over but this movie has a lot of social comment to digest; although it tends to be a bit heavy handed at times. The ending is quite a satisfactory and moving conclusion.

I read a few reviews before deciding to write this and what I read was they felt this movie was an attack on men in general and that in order to enjoy this movie you had to be a hardcore feminist. Well that's just nuts, as a male I for one liked this film. at one point after I read the reviews I tried to stop watching , I guess I felt that I had to support y gender since that is what they thought. But I just couldn't. There was something that pulled me into it. made me want to watch it all. The reviews that I have read that critic this movie in a negative way are not really critiquing the movie but how they side with the story being told. Saying the movie is bad because its unfair towards men is a weak critic about the movie itself and more of a view into what that person thinks about strong women to begin with. The movie itself is rather slowed paced but always kept me intrigue enough to want to sit and watch it all. Its not my typical type of movie , I am more of an action pact movie guy but every now and then I find myself captivated by a slow paced film such as this.

I see there are a lot of mixed feelings about M.F.A. It will for sure not win any awards but it's still good enough to entertain you on a cold winter night. The story might not be overly developped but it's easy to understand and to watch. Not really a revenge movie, more a vigilante movie of a rape victim taking justice in her own hands. Francesca Eastwood did a good job playing her character. The rest of the cast wasn't bad either, nothing great, but not bad either. I would have made the killing scenes a bit bloodier and more sadistic to make it a better horror movie. I think that would have been better for the movie and this genre of movie. All in all it's an okay movie if you don't have too much expectations.

Maybe if the movie was released during the #metoo movement, it might have done really well at the box office. It does have Clint Eastwoods daughter in the main role and of course it does have the topic of sexual abuse. There is some reality behind it all which may make some people uncomfortable. 1) because of the subject matter and 2) because of how it handles the topic after it (where it descends into the fantastic and unbelievable).

While I don't agree with everything the movie is portraying, the movie itself says that our main protagonist isn't always on the right side (of her mind) either. So if you try to nitpick, there is a lot you can find here. But if you accept this as a thriller and a bit of social message in between, you should be ok. Sit back, relax and do try to take the positive the movie is trying to tell/sell