Descent

2007 Drama

An act of violence throws a young woman's life into disarray in this independent drama, the first feature from director Talia Lugacy. Maya (Rosario Dawson) is a bright and ambitious college student who tries to balance a social life with her busy academic schedule. One night, Maya and some friends attend a house party largely populated by drunken frat boys. Maya is appalled by their uncouth behavior and disrespect for the female guests, and when a guy named Jared (Chad Faust) bluntly hits on her, she gives him a piece of her mind. While she begins to warm to him by the end of their conversation, Jared shows just how much he thinks of her opinions by brutally raping her later that night. The assault has a profound effect on Maya; her grades suffer, she turns to drugs to blunt her emotional pain, and falls into a cycle of promiscuity. Maya has come close to hitting bottom when she encounters Jared and confronts him about the toll he's taken on her life. Leading lady Rosario Dawson also served as producer for Descent, which received its premiere at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. more..

Director: Talia Lugacy

Starring: Rosario Dawson, Chad Faust, Marcus Patrick, Christopher DeBlasio, Sergia Louise Anderson

Reviews

  • It's been a while since we saw a demagogic feminist exploitation revenge drama, and Descent, while top-heavy with ''agenda,'' is shrewdly done.

    Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly

    26 April 2013

  • It's a lot like a '70s exploitation movie, with its determination to seduce and shock the viewer with alternating currents of electrical stimulus, and its weird combination of arty arch-decadence and neo-Victorian moralizing.

    Andrew O'Hehir - Salon.com

    26 April 2013

  • Hard to watch but essential to see, Descent is at once realistic and rhetorical, and driven throughout by righteous anger that comes from an honest place.

    - The New York Times

    26 April 2013

  • A well-acted trifle straining to be a hard-hitting morality play.

    - Village Voice

    26 April 2013

  • Though a clearly gifted new filmmaker, Lugacy doesn't get a handle on the combustible material, and she gets scalded in the process.

    Scott Tobias - The A.V. Club

    26 April 2013

Awards

No awards