Product Details

• Actors: Maria Bello, Jason Patrick, Rufus Sewell, Amy Brenneman
• Directors: Johan Renck
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Strand Releasing
• DVD Release Date: January 12, 2010
• Run Time: 102 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002PJYPYG
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,265 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Downloading Nancy" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Studio: Strand Releasing Release Date: 01/12/2010 Run time: 102 minutes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How Can You Kill Someone When They're Already Dead?, June 25, 2009

By 

Chris Pandolfi (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

"Downloading Nancy" is about people caught in their own private traps. The title character in particular (Maria Bello) only feels when she's in pain, and her one wish is to die. But she doesn't want to commit suicide; what she wants is for someone to kill her, someone who will use her, hurt her, make her feel as worthless as she thinks--no, as she knows--she is. In the meantime, she will remind herself how worthless she is by hurting herself with razor blades. Love is not a concept she understands or even tries to understand. Her mind is screaming madhouse of melodrama, and we're made to think it's the product of an abusive childhood. It very well may be, but there's really no way to know for sure. All we do know is that, whatever Nancy went through, as a child or as an adult, she's completely unequipped to handle life, so much so that she actively seeks a release.

Here enters Louis Farley (Jason Patric), a man with two children he hasn't seen in years, although he remembers their ages as four and seven. After communicating for some time via e-mail, Nancy agrees to meet Louis at a bus station in Baltimore. They then engage in days of violent sexual acts at his house, which is covered floor to ceiling with video cassettes stacked on shelves. Nancy wants this. It's the only way she knows how to cope with her feelings. She actually feels something when a cigarette is shoved into her flesh and a broken shard of glass traces her body. And Louis is more than happy to give Nancy what she wants. At least, he is at first; what seemed so perfect and orderly on a computer screen eventually becomes far too real for him. Why? Because he knows her. He understands her. He loves her.

Left behind is Nancy's hopeless husband, Albert (Rufus Sewell), who could never satisfy his wife even if she didn't want to be abused. His life is made up of plastic-covered furniture and a basement converted into a mini putting green, with the walls painted to look like a sprawling golf course. Frequent shots of his shoeless feet suggest a need to maintain cleanliness, or the very least some semblance of order. When it becomes clear that Nancy has been gone for too long, he makes no effort find her. He doesn't even call the police to file a missing person report. And yet, when Louis pays him a visit, Albert angrily, violently demands to know where his wife is. It has nothing to do with love; he just wants things to go back to the way they used to be. It's predictable. It's orderly. It's comforting routine.

Intertwined with this are periodic flashbacks to Nancy's therapy sessions with Carol (Amy Brenneman), who seems genuinely baffled by Nancy and her irrational state of mind. Carol takes a lot of notes and spouts generic statements about how Nancy feels, which is to say that she's well-meaning but unqualified. Indeed, Nancy doesn't want to be helped in that way. What does it say that she's willing to end her life only if someone does it for her? If she's so unhappy, why can't she just kill herself? Could she, perhaps, be deluding herself into thinking that guiding her own murder is somehow different and more acceptable than suicide? This is never addressed in the film, but the fact that she pursues Louis so fervently brings up a number of fascinating questions.

This movie, apparently based on true events, was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. It also greatly divided audiences, a number of guests having left the screening room before the film ended. In the few weeks since opening in limited release, it has earned a 19% approval rating at Rottentomatoes.com, the general consensus being that it's well-made but far too unsettling to sit through. From the din of almost unanimous hatred comes a single voice, my voice, boldly asserting that "Downloading Nancy" is one of the year's best films. I agree that it's an unpleasant story about unpleasant characters in an unpleasant situation, but blast it all, it convinced me. I could easily invest in what I was watching. I actually felt something for the characters even though I didn't always understand them. I witnessed Nancy's downward spiral and had a reaction to it, which is exactly what was supposed to happen.

Bello's performance in particular reveals a side few actors have the nerve to reveal. We see not a role being played but a full emotional and physical experience, a raw portrayal of a mentally broken woman well past the point of repair. To play this character requires bravery and skill, and by allowing herself to be so psychologically vulnerable, Bello proves that she has them both. She completely inhabits Nancy. She makes her real. She persuades you to see things from her perspective, skewed though it may be. The tagline on the poster proclaims that "Downloading Nancy" is, "The most controversial film you will see this year," and I wholeheartedly agree--not everyone will appreciate a story about a woman that wants to be killed. But consider this: How can you kill someone when they're already dead?

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dark and challenging., January 16, 2010

By 

D. Cross "D_Cross" (Hollywood, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Downloading Nancy (DVD)

One of the bravest films I've seen in a long time. Jason Patric is absolutely icy. Actually, the whole film is downright chilly. This is definitely one of the most atmospheric films I've ever seen. The title is a bit off-putting but the direction, the acting, the script, the cinematography, the score - all top notch. Further proof that it really doesn't matter what you do, as long as it's done well. Even if the subject matter is troubling or disturbing, at least it is honest.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Soulmates, March 22, 2010

By 

Douglas King (Cincinnati, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Downloading Nancy (DVD)

"Downloading Nancy" is the best film I've seen in a while. What is so impressive about it is its ability to make the characters in an almost unbelievable story so believable.

Nancy wants to die. After suffering horrific childhood abuse, and being stuck in a loveless marriage for 15 years, she can only really feel alive when she's in physical pain. To cope, she cuts herself, but her fantasy is to find a sexual sadist willing to take her life for her. Enter Louis, who she meets on the internet, and who is willing to serve as her sexual dominant and eventual murderer.

Louis is the yan to Nancy's yin. He deals with psychic pain by inflicting physical pain. His demeanor is calm and controlled, as opposed to Nancy's histrionics. They're soul mates. They understand each other. And ultimately, when Louis acts, it's out of love.

What makes the film is really Maria Bello's powerhouse performance. Nancy is not an easy character to like - she's a person who's so determined to die that she's lost any desire to maintain any kind of dignity. She can be harsh, abusive, cruel ... and yet the actress makes her pain so real that it's hard to fault her for anything she does. She is somehow able to make this disturbed, ruined woman both relatable and even lovable.