This drama compels us to feel empathetic towards an old Nazi war criminal because well, it's George C. Scott. Sorry no deal. Not only the plot is a shameful exploitation of historical tragedies to suit the Holocaust-slot-machine genre, but the film is a confusing, sloppy mess in many ways. It was made by HBO in the days before they were Game for Thrones. Eric Roberts is the hallmark to this "it's taboo but not risky" made-for-TV movie with lackluster direction. Roberts finds out that his father in law (Scott) was a prison guard at a WWII concentration camp, a Romanian collaborator to Nazis, and participated in some historical massacres. The script dictates that Scott not only massacred women and children in Romania, but continues to order murders to this day when anyone comes close to discovering his secret. Since Roberts knows the secret, his own life is in danger. The rest of the script simply aligns various nonsense, improbabilities, and implausibilities. Director Kagan isn't at all bad (The West Wing, The Journey of Natty Gann, The Sting II, The Big Fix, The Chosen) but this was one of his descending moments.
Review of Descending Angel
