The film begins with a line from the Gospel of Luke: "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." The story that unfolds is about a fall from grace told in a startling dramatic reversal of roles.
On the surface level, "The Ascent" is about the rise of a good cop, the skilled interrogator Henry Cardenas. His ascent is to the upper echelon of police integrity in the name of justice.
Henry is only one successful interrogation away from setting the record in the L.A. police annals. He aims to accomplish that goal through a long night of questioning a young man who may be Lucifer himself. At the heart of Henry's questioning technique is eliciting remorse during the interrogation. In many ways, he will demonstrate that process in a stunning revelation that ties together past and present.
The homicide suspect named Vincent explains to Henry that his name in the Latin is Vincere, which means to conquer. In the long interrogation scene, the hunter becomes the hunted, the victim becomes the conqueror.
The film turns at a specific moment in the singing of the Irish dirge "Danny Boy." It is at that time that we begin to learn the sad story of "good cop, bad cop." Is Vincent really Lucifer's kid brother? Or, is he the witness who observes Lucifer fall from heaven?
On the surface level, "The Ascent" is about the rise of a good cop, the skilled interrogator Henry Cardenas. His ascent is to the upper echelon of police integrity in the name of justice.
Henry is only one successful interrogation away from setting the record in the L.A. police annals. He aims to accomplish that goal through a long night of questioning a young man who may be Lucifer himself. At the heart of Henry's questioning technique is eliciting remorse during the interrogation. In many ways, he will demonstrate that process in a stunning revelation that ties together past and present.
The homicide suspect named Vincent explains to Henry that his name in the Latin is Vincere, which means to conquer. In the long interrogation scene, the hunter becomes the hunted, the victim becomes the conqueror.
The film turns at a specific moment in the singing of the Irish dirge "Danny Boy." It is at that time that we begin to learn the sad story of "good cop, bad cop." Is Vincent really Lucifer's kid brother? Or, is he the witness who observes Lucifer fall from heaven?