This one is a hard pass for me.

I’ll say a few words about it, to fulfill my obligation to the WATC(H) requirements, but I’m not going to do my typical review. I just can’t really apply my normal formula of review this kind of film and hopefully my explanation below will help you understand why.

It’s been a while since I’ve wanted to give up on a Nicolas Cage movie halfway through. I think Sonny is one of my least favorite (non-animated) Cage films so far (since he’s barely in it and the story was horrible) and this one has to rank near that nadir in the “least favorite” list.

It’s called Vengeance: A Love Story (2017) and most of the reason I didn’t like it is because of the tough subject matter and sub-par acting.  The movie, which is based on a novella by Joyce Carol Oates (called Rape: A Love Story), tells the story of a woman who is gang raped on her way home from a 4th of July party. Her young daughter is present and witnesses the assault and then must testify in a court hearing of the accused men who committed the crime. When it looks as if the men will not face justice for their crimes (because of a broken legal system and the unfair vilification of single women) a police officer takes vengeance on the men as a vigilante.

Sexual assault is always a very difficult topic to address, but to be forced to witness it, even in a film context is not easy for me (or I imagine most) to stomach. The fact that the scene in question also includes an 11 year old girl doesn’t help matters. When you first watch it you don’t know what the girl will be subjected to–will she also be assaulted? It’s truly nerve wracking and pretty horrifying to sit through. I know it happens in the world, but that doesn’t make it any easier to voluntarily take part as a witness to it. 

I don’t claim to know much of anything about the novella–whether or not it was based on real life events or a story or theme Oates was closely familiar with–but making a film like this, one must wonder to what end the creator has in mind for it and the viewer? Is it about raising awareness? Or just art reflecting life–however dark? Is it an exploration of all the emotions that are raised when violent acts happen to the innocent? I’m not sure, but I typically don’t gravitate towards art that depicts violence for violence sake–or the unpacking of trauma with no discernible catharsis. And that’s the ultimate point and outcome of the film. Vengeance gets meted out as payment for rape, injustice and violence. You take satisfaction in seeing that vengeance, sure, to some degree, but it does nothing to redeem the loss and damage the scumbags have inflicted on these women (and the viewer).

The vengeance part is where Nicolas Cage comes in. He plays John, the Niagara Falls police officer who befriends, defends and avenges the victims. The love story part of the title also makes me uncomfortable as it juxtaposes this horrific violation (rape) with the highest reality and emotion state of being (love). John loves Teena (the victim) and Bethie (her daughter) whom he barely knows, and he wants to protect them and find his own brand of justice for them when the system “fails to defend them”.

Is this a love story? I’m not sure.

It’s a story of vengeance and “justice” taken at all costs. From the shadows of surprise, John hunts down and kills the men who raped Teena (and don’t get me wrong, they 100% deserve it and much worse). He kills them one by one and makes it look circumstantial–thus escaping his own punishment for operating outside the law. But it is also a story of isolation and loneliness.

Cage doesn’t have many lines in the film. He plays a quiet, brooding, action oriented character. In many ways this movie is a lesser version of Man On Fire in that regard. (Incidentally, we’ve seen Cage in a few vigilante / revenge movies already on this journey, one that involves rape of a loved one, i.e. Seeking Justice. I’m not sure exactly what it is that draws him into these types of roles, but I kind of wish he’d just pass on them.)

I can’t really recommend this film and I don’t have much else to say about it. I know it’s an “important topic” of which awareness should be raised. I’m just not sure that film is the best medium or method for doing this work. Does it glorify these acts in some twisted sense? Does it also fire up that sense of vengeance as a means to rectify these impossible to navigate situations and societal failures? Also, I don’t know for sure. So I’ll just conclude by saying this one film is probably one you should skip unless this topic has some significance for you (and you have the resolve to see it through.)

It covers a tough topic and offers a possible solution, but in the end, no one comes out of this situation undamaged. Everyone is scarred by the actions of the worst of humanity. There’s nothing in “this depicted world” I want to think too long upon, other than just making a much better one than this for women (and men) everywhere.