Strand spends close to a year ‘Downloading Nancy’

I was afraid that this would somehow be swept under the rug, but if a film like Hounddog can find distribution then chances were that a truly tense portrait featuring ugly people, and ugly subject matter would somehow be saved from eradication. I’m hoping that this time out Strand Releasing can not only save a Sundance film as they had did with a favorite of mine in The Hawk is Dying, but also push it into the mainstream and somehow make something of it. Variety reports that Strand have picked up the domestic and DVD rights to vid/commercial filmmaker Johan Renck‘s directorial debut entitled Downloading Nancy. Look for a Spring release for the picture.

Nancy is played by underrated actress Maria Bello – and when the thesp finds herself in one of those meaty roles she reminds us that there was at least one good reason for putting together a film like Coyote Ugly. The already hard to stomach trailer (see below) gives an idea of how numb we are as a population – an idea that was brilliantly examined in Antonio Campos’ Afterschool. The storyline begins with one Albert Stockwell (played by Rufus Sewell) who comes home from work one day he finds a note from his wife of 15 years, Nancy, saying she has gone to see friends. It is a lie. After waiting several days, Albert realizes that his wife is missing. Nancy has met her salvation on the Internet in the form of Louis Farley (Jason Patric). Louis’s life, like Nancy’s, has become a twisted quest for redemption via smutty chat rooms and alternative websites. Both wounded and alone, Nancy and Louis take comfort in one another through email, pictures and promises. With Louis, Nancy goes to a different place, one of liberation and fulfillment. It¹s a location where pain is pleasure and where the end is the beginning. While she pursues the freedom that she feels will only come with ultimate liberation, Albert is left to put the pieces together and try to salvage what is left.