Descending Angel (1990) Reviews

• A Compelling Vision

  lordwhorfin1999-11-09

  I am of the opinion that this film has an undeserved reputation as "underdeveloped." The better description of the feel of this film lies closer to "stark" or "lean" rather than "limited." I find Descending Angel better in many ways than The Music Box, which explores similar themes (although Jessica Lange and Armand Mueller Stahl are excellent in the latter film). One point of contrast that I find falls fully in Descending Angel's favor is that Roberts, unlike Lange, does not suddenly jet off to Eastern Europe in pursuit of "the truth." The chickens come home to roost messily in the United States, and give the film a nasty political edge I find compelling. I give it 8/10 for cable fare. Roberts, Lane, and Scott are enough reason to see this piece. Some of the scenes between Roberts and Scott are among the most compelling confrontations between past actions and present morals as have been filmed in the 1990s. If you liked True Colors or Storyville, you'll like this one too.

• Totally acceptable with a fine George C. Scott performance ..................

  merklekranz2011-10-03

  If you ignore an ending that seems both rushed and highly unlikely, "Descending Angel" is totally acceptable, with a fine George C. Scott performance. Eric Roberts is going to be marrying Scott's daughter, and the movie revolves around an uneasy meeting with his future father in-law. When Roberts suspicion begins to build that Scott was part of a WW2 massacre of Jews, his fiancé, Diane Lane, is torn between her powerful father and her love for Roberts. Although the film is not perfect, mostly because of the flawed conclusion, it is different enough to maintain interest. Recommended for fans of George C. Scott, and Eric Roberts. - MERK

• George c scott's secret past revealed

  goya-42001-04-05

  Eric Roberts plays the fiance of Diane Lane who discovers some unpleasant realities about his future father in law played by George C Scott. While the premise, exposing a nazi collaborator, is a good one, the film never really builds any suspense. On a scale of one to ten.. 6

• Below average movie

  newjersian2018-07-24

  The story told in this movie is based on a very interesting idea. How the children can deal with the crimes of their fathers? We saw that drama in many artistic creations, some good, some with less qualities. But Descending Angel is simply a primitive tale with a very predictable ending. The most disappointing part of it is the sloppy work of the director Jeremy Kagan. Having such a brilliant actor as George Scott and charming Diane Lane, Kagan succeeded to spoil the story by selecting Eric Roberts for the major role. Roberts always overplays his emotions, but in this movie he surpassed even himself, acting at the level of a school theater. And all the goofs that are generously scattered over the whole movie! For insatnce, Michael, played by Roberts, runs away from thugs who follow him in a car. All he needs to do is to jump into the wood in which he's running. But he runs like a rabbit between the car lights until he comes back to the place where the thugs can shoot him. And what is that place? The church entry where the crowd assembled and where even a criminal would not shoot a rifle. Or, when Michael enters the church basement, he clearly shuts the door behind. Several minutes later the door is open which pulls the attention of a guard. To sum it up, watch that movie only if you are really bored and don't have anything better to do.

• Found George C. Scott and Vyto Ruginis' performances outstanding.

  francieh2001-05-13

  I thought Eric Roberts and Diane performances were trite in this film. Most of the time I couldn't wait for them to get off the screen. However I truely enjoyed Vyto Ruginis in this film as always. Scott was okay as well