Violation

By: Maggie Stankiewicz

When entering a film like Violation, it’s best to have a clear understanding of what you’re about to witness. An understanding that requires more than a simple logline. Yes, filmmakers Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli’s Violation is a movie about a troubled woman on the edge of divorce enacting revenge on those who have wronged her. But it’s more than that. A lot more. Violation is the latest entry into the rape-revenge subgenre that is deeply troubling and not as cathartic to this reviewer as other films in the same niche. Well-intentioned and aspirational, Violation is as hard to follow as it is to watch.

Both Sims-Fewer and Mancinelli have an impressive resume of acting, producing and short film credits under their belts, but Violation is their first feature film. Their combined experience lends itself to a well-defined tone and visual style, but the storytelling doesn’t quite live up to the potential of its creators. The film is thematically packed and emotionally resonant, but the non-linear structure can be difficult to follow and jarring for viewers as they recover from scenes of bloody brutality to expository flashbacks.

Miriam (Madeleine Sims-Fewer) and her husband Caleb (Obi Abili) have hit some turbulence in their marriage, but that doesn’t stop them from taking a weekend trip to an isolated cabin with Miriam’s sister Greta (Anna Maguire) and her husband Dylan (Jesse LaVercombe). Upon their arrival it becomes evident that most of Miriam’s relationships are turbulent. She and her sister are separated by surmounting tension and there’s something inexplicably off about Dylan, who by all accounts is handsome and charming – perfect on paper. Each actor, including Sims-Fewer, is up to the challenge of balancing the complexities of their characters while exploring how their good qualities enable the bad and vice versa. Violation is here to defy tropes and, in this way, it succeeds in spades.

Miriam is a sexual assault survivor and one of the film’s prevailing storylines is her acts of vengeance being carried out in the present. The secondary storyline, told through flashbacks, builds up to inform the present. All the while viewers bear witness to graphic sexual imagery, intense body horror, violence, emotional trauma and the reality that abusers can easily infiltrate personal circles, by no fault of our own. Despite this, the movie never feels exploitive of Miriam’s pain. It’s instead focused on exploring the notion that while instantly gratifying, true acts of vengeance take their toll.

Films like Violation are not for the faint of heart, but they reside in an integral corner of art. While not your conventional form of entertainment, Violation is for viewers who want to feel something, no matter how ugly it is, and possibly learn something. It is not a film for those looking to relax on a Saturday evening. And it doesn’t have to be. Violation is set out to fill a gap in the rape-revenge, thriller genre. It is not here to coddle or comfort. That’s a noble endeavor, but viewers mustn’t walk in blind to the horrors bound to follow pressing “play.”