Eduardo Escorel's film "Ato de Violência" ("Act of Violence") is a quite strange film with an intriguing premise that challenges viewers with its
questionings related to forgiveness, redemption and salvation of a tortured man. The man in question is Antônio (Nuno Leal Maia), a serial killer who is sentenced to
more than 30 years in prison after the brutal murder of a prostitute, a crime he doesn't even remember of commiting but all leads point back at him. He really killed that
woman, and severed her body trying to hide the corpse.
He doesn't accept the fact of being in prison for a crime he doesn't have any recollection and already saddened with the fact his mother's health is declining and
she's all alone in the world. Come to his aide the assistance from a young woman (Selma Egrei) of whom he was about to get married when he was arrested and for some odd
reason she believes that he isn't the monster people tell that he is and she still wants to marry him, helping the man to get a decent lawyer who can find a way to reduce
his sentence. Thanks to his good behavior behind bars, he's released on probation and gets to marry the girl. And that's when the challenge begins: how will Antônio live his
life as an ex-convict trying to find a job, support his wife and stay away from temptations such as spending the night on bars, drinking away, chasing prostitutes and all?
Deep down inside, as revealed by the many psychiatrists who take his case inside the prison the man has several mental problems, and there is a hidden killer instict inside
of him that somehow always manages to get out.
Escorel defies us in thinking about the possibilities of redemption for such a man. Antônio is indeed presented as a nice guy, hard worker, with some good
acquaintances of whom try to stay away from him after his past as an ex-convict and we can see and sense that he's really working hard for a change even though society isn't
all that welcome to him. And that's when he goes back to his lazy days doing nothing but occupying space. That's when the devil comes for him and he doesn't even try to
struggle against it.
Despite the suspense built in its story (as it has to be one, after all), this film is more concerned in presenting us the drama of Antônio and the way he tries to
live and survive with the circumstances brought on him and the things he does of which he doesn't take full responsibility. The eternal ladies man Maia plays one of his best
roles to date, a very conflicted character of whom, despite the terrible and tragic acts he does, there's something about his quiet nature and the way he interacts with
people that he becomes a very likeable guy. He's not your typical serial killer clouded with intelligence and wit, but he can be cruel, vicious, brutal and soulless as
evidenced in the murders he commits.
I was surprised this film didn't have a review until now, maybe there was one that got deleted because I don't usually miss the chance to analyze it when no one else
had done before. Or maybe I was lacking in inspiration to say something about it, and because of the zero review status here I rewatched it (since I had forgotten plenty of
things except for the final scene) and was inclined to write about it. This second viewing didn't improve its rating but it certainly got a lot more memorable than it was,
and I could find a deeper meaning to its premise.
You will finish watching this and asking yourself if true redemption and true salvation can exist; you can question about how prison can change a man (in fact,
Antônio is a lucky man because we don't see any involvement of his in fights, breakouts or rebellions - maybe that's a flaw of the script in not giving us a wider dimension
of facts that could change the man's behavior); and we can question if one the past is left behind, you're settled with someone and leading a new life can in fact change you
for good or you may relapse into dangerous habits that can only bring the worst out of you. The movie gives us a straight, honest and real answer to those questions, but for
a long time in Antônio's journey we wondered, we cheered for him and we hoped that things could turn out different for him. But there's always something in the way, deep down in a part we cannot touch. 8/10.
