Review of Downloading Nancy (2008) by Aleksandar K — 07 Jun 2009

In "Downloading Nancy," Nancy(Maria Bello) is a housewife who has been married to Albert(Rufus Sewell) for fifteen years. One day, she leaves home on a bus, leaving a note for her husband that she has gone to Baltimore. Four days later and no news, Albert has not yet called the police.

Nancy is an incest survivor who sees a caring psychiatrist(Amy Brenneman) but it does not stop her from continually cutting herself. If Albert were not so totally engrossed in golfing, he might have noticed her looking on the internet for an outlet for her pain. It is there that she finds Louis(Jason Patric).

As Susie Bright once pointed out, there is no connection between having been abused and a sadomasochistic lifestyle. So, while Nancy having been sexually abused as a child could not explain her sexuality, it could explain her lack of emotional development. At this point, she is emotionally a teenager, always needing attention and selfishly pursuing her goal at the expense of the people who care for her. Through a trippy time structure that I have seen before, "Downloading Nancy," a darkly perverse movie, makes a valiant attempt to tell her story with some success due to a fearless performance from Maria Bello.