Movie review: ‘The Hunting Ground’

Let me first say that the makers of the The Hunting Ground, a searing, devastating look at the sexual assault epidemic on college campuses, deserve full credit for giving voice to rape victims, or “survivors,” as some of the women featured in the documentary prefer to be called.

Come to think about it, survivor is probably a more accurate term. Not only did these unfortunate women have to survive rape but also the perverted culture of some of the nation’s top colleges and universities, which value reputation and alumni dollars over the welfare of its students.

But as a documentary, The Hunting Ground, written and directed by Kirby Dick, is a disjointed mess. In the quest to cram too much material into a 90-minute film, the documentary dilutes its shock value, thus denying the women and the audience the full power of their stories.

For example, The Hunting Ground inexplicably buries material that drew national attention to the movie in the first place: an interview with Erica Kinsman, the former Florida State University student who accused Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston of rape. (Winston is expected to go high in the upcoming NFL Draft.) Kinsman does not appear until two thirds into the movie.

The film hits on everything from bad boy frats and untouchable college athletes to the efforts of the two female students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to document rape cases across the country. The students help other survivors sue colleges for violating federal law. Worthy stuff, but again, way too much.

Perhaps Dick could have told a more concise, cohesive story had he not resorted to cinematic tricks that added little to the story. He devotes precious minutes at the start of of the movie to an overly long sequence of students reacting with joy to college acceptance offers. The film also includes an interview with a rapist, but he really doesn’t say anything except to make general observations about sexual predators. And he doesn’t answer the most important question — why did he do it?

Dick even commissioned Lady Gaga to write an original song for the film. Really dude? The material should stand on its own without help from a famous pop star.

The movies does have its moments, including a heartbreaking interview with a St. Mary College student who said she was raped by a Notre Dame football player. The woman seemed so frail and traumatized that I had to fight back tears.

As a call to action, The Hunting Ground truly goes to bat for rape survivors. As a documentary, the movie as a whole is much lesser than its individual parts.

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This story was originally published March 23, 2015 at 11:48 AM with the headline "Movie review: ‘The Hunting Ground’."