Shortly after we are introduced to Master of Fine Arts candidate Noelle (Francesca Eastwood), she is raped by a classmate. When she confronts him the next day, he denies doing anything wrong and winds up dead in a mostly-accidental way. Somewhere during the events that caused Noelle to be a victim of sexual assault and a murder suspect, she snaps. Formerly introverted and a loner, Noelle starts going to frat parties in order to seduce and murder other rapists who, due to a faulty system, got away with their crimes.
It will not be surprising to anyone who has seen the excellent documentary The Hunting Ground (or really, anyone who has attended a post-secondary institution) that despite her school having reported no sexual assaults at all, it is all to easy for Noelle to find rapists to kill on her college’s campus as she goes full vigilante. In carrying out a series of increasingly violent kills, Noelle has no real fear of being caught even though she knows the police are closing in.
Eastwood is INTENSE in M.F.A. Like, maybe more intense than her father has ever been, and that’s saying something because that guy’s face is frozen in a permanent, angry, “Ima kill you” sneer. She is the best part of this movie and while she can’t make Noelle relatable, she keeps the audience on her side throughout the film, and that is no small feat in the face of her bloody killing spree.
M.F.A. offers an interesting twist on the typical slasher flick, and Noelle’s numerous kills are well-executed and, as is traditional in the genre, get more gory as she goes. If nothing else, M.F.A. calls attention to the conversation we all should be having, namely why so many women are being sexually assaulted on college campuses and why the colleges are in many cases turning a blind eye to the rapes, or even discouraging victims from reporting these assaults!
The scary part about M.F.A. is not Noelle, it’s that the rapists and the evil administrator who blames the victim and covers up assaults are all too real, and are on your campus, or your friend’s, or your daughter’s. We need to find an alternative solution, other than murder, so that a campus rape stops being a standard part of a Saturday night frat party, and so that when a college claims to have had zero rapes it’s not because the administration successfully intimidated and discouraged all potential complainants. No more sexual assaults should be swept under the rug. M.F.A. helps to shine a light on the problem.
ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES 
Most Colleges in the GTA are adopting sexual assault policies, bringing to light the problem students are facing when sexually assaulted (I know, I work for one…). But there is still more work to be done. And statistically, it’s a hard battle to win in court too, not impossible, but hard. The victim is often repeatedly re victimized simply by having to repeat or defend their story.
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This would be a tough one to watch but really I admire it for the focus it puts on sexual assaults, which most people would shy away from as that’s the easier thing to do..
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I have The Hunting Ground on my Netflix list, but I just haven’t gotten round to watching it yet. Reckon this would likely get a bit more attention due to it likely reaching, or appealing, to a larger audience – such is the nature of a movie (a slasher) – so I guess it’s as good a way to shine a light on a subject like this as any.
Also, I reckon I’ll check this out when it crops up on that Netflix.
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The Hunting Ground is tough but really good. I think it should have gotten an Oscar nom.
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There are some days … when murdering rapists seems a reasonable solution to the plague.
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Couldn’t hurt.
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Yep, works for me.
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It’s been interesting watching BYU (the paragon of virtue) trying to deal with all the rapes going on there. People who live in glass houses…
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I know this one was hard for you to write about, tough to watch too I suppose, but I guess we need the reminder, as a culture, that this is a big problem that continues to persist.
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This sounds interesting. I am not usually a fan of slasher movies, but I’m always intrigued when someone does something different with a genre. And sadly this issue is still relevant. 😦
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And it shines a light on the problem in the best way to get attention–a slasher pic.
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Well said!
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