“PHOENIX RISING follows actress and activist Evan Rachel Wood as she takes her experience as a survivor of domestic violence to pursue justice, heal generational wounds, and reclaim her story. Almost a decade after escaping a dangerous relationship, Wood co-authors and successfully lobbies for passage of The Phoenix Act, legislation that extends the statute of limitations for domestic violence cases in California. Wood courageously uses her own experience to bring visibility to the issue; ultimately, in solidarity with fellow survivors.”

Rotten Tomatoes

You walk away from watching Phoenix Rising feeling dirty, feeling vulnerable, almost as if you had been assaulted. I wanted to forget about it immediately, let alone spend hours thinking and writing about it. I will never be able to imagine how Evan Rachel Wood must feel having lived this nightmare.

I also cannot imagine just how difficult it must be for a victim of domestic violence to come forward and talk about something you want to forget so badly. Especially with the statue of limitations on a crime such as domestic violence being like a minute long. That’s one of the reasons Wood fought so hard to have it changed – under the 1-to-3-year limitation, she could not go after her abuser. They aimed for ten years. Of course, there was some political wrangling and they had to settle for five years instead of ten. It’s not enough, but it is a beginning.

The Phoenix Act, of course, opened all of Wood’s trauma. During the legal battle she had testified that she was a victim of abuse but had not named her aggressor. Yet, as more and more woman approached her and either said, we have been through something similar, or much worse, we know who abused you, she felt it necessary to name him. Brian Warner, aka, Marilyn Manson. She realised he needed to be stopped.

The doccie delves into how Evan’s fractured childhood and the media coverage of her life and career played a role in her falling prey to a predator.

Evan was a child star with creative, yet feuding parents who eventually split the family into two halves – Evan and her mom fled, while her brother, her confidante, stayed behind to look after their father. Even though her parents sometimes got it totally wrong and caused her immense pain, she offers them a chance at redemption. They stand up to be counted. More importantly, they admit their faults. Evan’s dad saying he needed to have heart surgery and for his children to fly to him immediately to understand how he failed her by not being there, was a highlight.

Hollywood afforded this young rising star very little protection. After Thirteen the media labelled her a certain way and the only roles she was offered was sexually daring/explicit/you name it. Naturally the tabloids treated her and Manson’s relationship as entertainment fodder. Nobody cared about the young, impressionable young woman being groomed by a 37-year-old creep. They were all cashing in. (Like the current situation with Kanye West. The man is clearly having an episode and needs help, but his every Tweet is making people around him money.)

The doccie also takes you quite deeply into the fear Wood still lives with. Sending that Tweet to name the creep, took everything she had. It was a momentous occasion to say the least. She went to her dad’s to be surrounded by family and love when she pressed the button, and then fell apart.

Years later Wood still sometimes needs people to hold her hand while she falls asleep. She moves a lot. She is paranoid about the hard drives with evidence.

She lost so much.

And the creep still living his life as if nothing happened? He has over the course of his music career publicly admitted to having sex with Wood on camera, to having violent tendencies, to being addicted to many things. Watch his videos. He is showing us who he is. He is a devil in plain sight.