by The Great White Gypsy

We’ve all been told about the dangers of meeting people online. The pedophiles, the perverts, the scams, the psychos. Some people just don’t listen. Others find exactly what they’re looking for. Such is the case in Downloading Nancy.

Nancy (Maria Bello) is a housewife who suffers from mood disorders and self-mutilation. She is completely unhappy with her life, and her husband (Rufus Sewell). When she meets Louis (Jason Patric) online, it starts as dirty chatting and fantasy. But then they make an arrangement to meet. Not to have sex, not because they are in love, but because Nancy wants something from Louis: she wants him to kill her. And he accepts.

The film is based on actual events, but first time director Johan Renck over-dramatizes it a little too much for my taste. Maria Bello does a great job, as usual, but her character isn’t completely sympathetic. Several times, the way she acts towards husband, or while she is with Louis, is inconsistent, and she comes across as a very weak person who can’t seem to figure out what she wants or why. Not that her husband is sympathetic, just the opposite; he is neglectful, and overly contentious for no reason. The only person in the film who seems to know what he is doing is Louis, but at the end, even he falters, and the movie ends up being a little forced and anticlimactic.

Pamela Cuming’ and Lee Ross’s screenplay has some depth, and a lot of good ideas. Maybe it’s just the uncomfortable subject matter that makes it hard to relate to, but what could have been some powerful scenes and emotional breakthroughs fall short. You never believe that Nancy’s life is as bad as she says, you never believe that her husband actually cares about her, and halfway through you stop believing that Louis knows what he’s doing.

The music is lethargic and hazy. It’s not bad, but Krister Linder is a bit inexperienced, and instead of giving us a feeling of foreboding or dread, it made me detached and kind of sleepy.

Christopher Doyle’s (Hero, 2046, Lady in the Water) mature cinematography is a high point; and the camera itself saves many of the scenes.

Overall, I would say that everyone involved in this project played their part as much as I expected them to, but with a more experienced director and screenwriter, this could’ve been a great movie, instead of a film I feel completely apathetic about having watched. Not a lot of substance outside of the acting.

Final Grade: C-

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