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Scalene (2011) Review

Scalene is a deeply troubling and unnerving film that will leave audiences reeling. It’s the story of a young woman, Hannah (played by an absolutely fearless and ferocious Marla Sokoloff), who is dealing with the aftermath of a brutal rape. She’s struggling to cope with the trauma and seeking revenge on her attacker. The film is unflinching in its portrayal of the rape and its aftermath, and Hannah’s descent into darkness is both disturbing and captivating. Sokoloff gives an incredibly brave and powerful performance, and the film is sure to leave a lasting impression on viewers.

The movie initially plays out in a reverse timeline (IE: from future events to the past), at first i found this a bit disconcerting but approx half way through the movie that switches around. It’s actually quite cleverly put together and knowing where things are going makes you feel compelled to watch more just to see how things got there. It starts with a bang but the pace does slow down a lot to fill in the character gaps – but at that point you’re so gripped with the characters you hardly notice. A big thumbs up to the director/editor for being able to pull this off so well.

The acting quality in Scalene is simply immense. Margo Martindale who plays the boys mother Janice Trimble puts in as stellar a performance as i’ve ever seen, she truly is brilliant in her part. Hanna Hall is superb also as Paige Alexander the boy’s new aid, who brings across the subtleties of her character very well. I can’t say there’s any bad performances in the movie really – as far as acting quality goes Scalene hits all the right spots.

This isn’t the kind of movie that sports gore and frights, it’s a cerebral character driven flick that takes itself very seriously. I know some people will find it difficult to take to it’s abstract cut n splice fashion of storytelling but if you can manage to deal with that what you’ll find is a tense and deeply chilling story, that’s filled to the brim with moral/philosophical depth. Recommended without reserve.

Synopsis

high school girl is sexually assaulted by her step-father. She becomes pregnant and has an abortion. Years later, she is a successful law student, but is still traumatized by the event. When she meets a man who is also a victim of sexual assault, she begins to heal.

Movie Details

Director: Zack Parker
Writers: Zack Parker, Brandon Owens
Actors: Adam Scarimbolo, Jim Dougherty, LaDonna Pettijohn, Mark A. Nash
Release Year: 2011