M.F.A.

"3.75⭐️ Fem rage in the vein of Promising Young Woman but more brutal. Where is Francesca Eastwood these days? She was amazing in this role! Subtle and nuanced, an incredibly charismatic performance of a guileless art student yet to develop her individuated voice and personal sense of power, with her potential stripped bare and overtaken with powerlessness, pain, grief and loss. Her transformation fueled by a quietly forceful and chilling fury is a thing of beauty to watch. The script, direction and cinematography are all both sharp and ethereal, somehow imparting a loveliness in juxtaposition to an almost artistic gore and dark desperation. This film has a lot to say about female friendship and loyalty, sexual stigmatization and victim blaming, and uneven power dynamics and unjust power structures. For fans of horror, slashers, crime thrillers, and more intense arthouse indies, but especially satisfying for seekers in the feminist revenge trope. ** Many TW’s here, for strong violence (physical and emotional) of course, and I have to mention a very disturbing and extremely difficult to watch scene of SA. "

"I love a good revenge movie, but this one is predictable and has an unpolished look to it. Some might say that it has a raw indie feel to it, but I feel that it felt unfinished in respect to the backing soundtrack and some of the acting is subpar. Although I must say that I am a fan of Francesca Eastwood's other work. I give this one a 5/10."

"Thanks @sher_free!! This is all you said it was. I liked it as much as "Promising Young Woman." Intense/riveting... Francesca Eastwood rocks!!"

"Similarities with the film Promising Young Woman, which I think is the better film. "

"This was intense, haunting, and will stay in the back of my mind eternally. The main character, Noelle, takes matters into her own hands after being traumatically raped at a house party. She is a girl scorned after all who comes to have a wild, vengeful side that becomes unmistakably awakened in the face of irreparable tragedy. She feels like people don’t do enough or act to create a culture of believing women, which only adds to the level and depth of her scorn. She wants those responsible to pay and doesn’t give a damn how she does it. Noelle certainly won’t back down for anyone or anything and especially won’t let anyone boss her around or tell her what to do. Once reticent and unsure, she newly steps into her own, never looking back. Her art even comes to mirror her complex personal journey. She at first plays it safe, making her art be something that has limits, something that’s blandly expected, but then her work all at once morphs, as she does, into something more dangerous and experimental that stops people stunningly in their tracks, making them look twice. She unleashes a rawness, a realness, unmatched that’s informed by her never-ending struggle and ongoing torment. Like a jilted lover, she strips the enemy of its power. Noelle makes a choice to act even if it leads to her own permanent undoing, which just goes to show the murky, morally dubious places people will sometimes go to make expressive, disruptive statements. Her creativity is fueled by her pursuit of the evil among us, making her work dark, deep, and immediately suggestive. Like she, it has power that stings and leaves a lasting, resonant mark. She dares to take down the perpetrators of acts unforgivable and unable to be taken back, even if she pays heftily with her life. “M.F.A.” is unsettling, shocking, and soundtracked ethereally to offset its own horror, calling to mind the power a personal vendetta can hold over the entirety of someone’s existence. "

"8/10 Before Promising Young Woman, MFA took a stab at the revenge against rapists trope.....and did a great job! The film has a very slight indi-film feel at times, but it works. The rape scenes aren't overdone butay be triggering to some. Will definitely watch again! "

"Loved it"