VOD Review: M.F.A. (2017)

"A pretty timely movie."

Recently, Hollywood mega mogul Harvey Weinstein has been revealed as being a creep. Anyone who knows the movie industry knows that he's a massive power broker who has no issue blackballing anyone who doesn't kiss his ass.

What the word at large didn't know, but was something that was whispered about in dark corners for decades, is that Harvey likes to force himself on pretty, young girls. No less that 50 actresses and models have come forward to tell their story about how Harvey either raped them, tried his best to have sex with them, or was downright inappropriate with them.

Now, making a pass at someone isn't tantamount to sexual assault. A guy tries, the girl says piss off, the guy pisses off. A guy in Weinstein's position though uses his power and privilege to attempt to force women into whatever acts he wants, and if they refuse, they're ostracized and have their careers suffer, all because they said no. Now that's something monstrous.

Rape is rape, but an unwanted sexual advance is damaging in its own way, especially when you lose your lively hood if you fail to comply. I'll never understand how any guy lives by the "Oh, she wants it!" credo, but seriously, losers, if a girl isn't interested, move on and find one who is.

As I said above, M.F.A. is a timely movie that pulls no punches in its examination of rape culture, and it's definitely an uncomfortable and disturbing watch.

Noelle is a Fine Arts student, working on her M.F.A. degree. Her work is a bit pedestrian, as her vapid classmates are quick to point out, and she's trying to find her voice. When a cute guy from her class invites her to a party, she thinks "Hey, I could use some positive energy right now", but alas, he's revealed for the scumbag as he is when he rapes her.

THAT POOR GIRL.

Noelle is justifiably traumatized by the event, and she finds no help from anyone. Her shrink is an unsupportive asshole, the woman's group she joins is more interested in talking about stupid shit than trying to heal, and even her best friend tells her to keep quiet, because it will ruin her life if she tells anyone. When she goes back to confront her rapist, she accidentally kills him, which at least was something positive.

SEE, SHE'S HAPPIER.

Noelle looks into other "alleged" rapes on campus only to discover that many of the accused are still students there, leading normal lives, despite what they did to the women of the school. It doesn't take long before she decides to rid the world of the monsters who get away with such heinous crimes, and begins to leaves a trail of bodies that everyone notices.

And her art is getting better.

PINK SUITS HER WELL.

Rape is a horrible act that leaves broken and damaged victims in its wake. M.F.A. takes an unflinching look at how one of those victims decides to do something about it, and spirals out of control into vehicle of vengeance. Sure, the guys who did such horrible things deserve it, but Noelle's actions leave other innocent victims in the wake of her vengeance, which begs the question: When is enough, enough?

As well-made as M.F.A. is, it's a rough, stark movie to behold, and its bound to upset plenty of viewers, so be warned.

Francesca Eastwood is subtly powerful in her role as victim turned killer, and she oozes rage in a very convincing way. She's got some talent (her daddy is Dirty Harry, after all), and she owns the screen in this one.

If the movies drops the ball in any way, it's in the way that it handles is secondary characters. The always awesome Clifton Collins Jr. isn't given enough to do as the detective who is hot on Noelle's trail, and even the nice guy who Noelle is drawn to seems little more than a caricature.

Some hammer violence, vomit death, strangulation, and scissor violence,some of it quite nasty.

PRAYING WON'T HELP.

A naked penis, and Francesca Eastwood paints in the nude.

SEXY KILLER.

"The world's already blind."

WHEN YOU STARE INTO THE ABYSSS...

M.F.A. is a very uncomfortable movie to watch. It's a bold one, and it's certainly shocking, but it's also very timely in its message, which is essentially there needs to be a price that men who treat women like playthings have to pay. It's also a meditation on how revenge leads someone down a dark path, and maybe destroys them even more...

It's a hard subject to tackle, but it's done pretty well here.

B-

M.F.A. is available now on VOD.

We feature a lot of gorgeous women in various stages of undress on this site, and quite simply, it's because the fairer sex is a stunning thing to behold. If a woman wants to look sexy, we will always be there to gawk at them like half-witted cretins... but we all have mothers, sisters, and daughters, and we know that our visual pleasure does not take precedence over the fact that women are defined by more than the curve of their breast or the angle of their faces.

While we may enjoy the physical beauty of a woman, what's behind their eyes matters to us too.

It just felt appropriate after watching this movie to say that.

All of that said, Francesca Eastwood is so hot that it makes me wish I was gay, just so that she could turn me straight.