High School Cover Up
When cheerleader Sam Gleason (Makenzie Vega) walks on to the pitch at the end of the game and sets fire to herself. Her life is saved but in doing so she claims that after the previous week's game she was sexually assaulted by a player at a party. With just a father it is a difficult period for Sam especially as Detective Jodi Miller (Khandi Alexander) sets about investigating her claim whilst getting pressure from various people about not ruining the High School football team, including her brother the coach. But as Sam's friends, her father as well as the detective investigate it becomes clear that several players from the team gang raped Sam whilst she was drunk.
I didn't see the first few seconds of "The Assault" but I am led to believe that this made for TV movie is loosely based on the Steubenville High School rape case. The thing is that whilst "The Assault" may be based on this true story it sadly ends up a familiar movie as every few years a TV movie is made which tells of a high school or college student who ends up not just the victim of a sexual assault but then the victim of those who wish to intimidate and humiliate her as well as cover up what happened for the sake of the school's football team.
The thing is that whilst "The Assault" ends up a sadly familiar movie it is also a movie made for a newer generation and as such the use of technology becomes a big part of the story as Sam can't remember what actually happened that night. As such Sam and her friends scour social media to find photos of what went on at the party to help the investigation whilst the content of a particular phone may be critical in providing the evidence needed. It is at times far fetched but also at the same time some good points are raised as to how a detective can prove Sam was too drunk to give consent on the night of the assault without a toxicology report.
What this all boils down to is that "The Assault" ends up feeling like a typical made for TV movie about a high school rape case just one which brings the story up to date for a newer generation. As such whilst it works as a drama it doesn't stand out from the crowd which is actually bigger than you might realise when it comes to this sort of high school/ college crime story.
