Downloading Nancy (2008)

Downloading Nancy: Directed by Johan Renck. With Maria Bello, Rufus Sewell, Jason Patric, Amy Brenneman. An unhappy wife orders a guy she meets over the Internet to kill her, but the two of them fall in love.

“Crimelibrary has an account of a suburban Baltimore, MD woman whose story is markedly similar to this film in the broad facts.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHowever, the movie departs from that story when exploring the protagonistu0026#39;s psychology – Maria Bello plays a very different character from that of Sharon Lopatka. The film tries to link contradicting pathologies which werenu0026#39;t present in the real story, and which would be fine if there was a point – there doesnu0026#39;t seem to be. Unlike Michael Hanekeu0026#39;s, u0026quot;La Pianiste,u0026quot; there seems to be a poor grasp or care about the underlying chaos of this character beyond the dramatic possibilities. Maria Bellou0026#39;s performance is admirable but the narrative fails to draw significant meaning from the substance of her struggle.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhile there is an attempt to create a dark, grim sheen to the film, the casting of two very pretty Hollywood stars (Bello and Patric) was an epic blunder. It adds an unwelcome u0026#39;allureu0026#39; to a tale which should remain, frankly, indigestible. Marketable, sexy actors transform this fascinating story into something weirdly, sadly exploitative. Jason Patric is such a poor choice – it couldnu0026#39;t be any more distracting if it were Brad Pitt! (It might have felt more grounded with actors like James Gandolfini and Kathy Bates… ).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRufus Sewell is captivating here and brings a needed realism in his portrayal of the bewildered husband.”