Solid acting highlights this intelligent drama
Added 3/18/2009
To the outside world it seems like Roseann Skolnick (Monica Keena) is your typical privileged teen. She's the head cheerleader who dates a popular football player named Jimmy (James DeBello). Her family lives in a huge mansion in the wealthy part of town. However Roseann lives a far darker existence that comes complete with a drunk step dad who is verbally abusive to his wife. Fred (Michael Ironside) is a bitter drunk whose only satisfaction in life comes from making his wife Maggie (Ellen Barkin) feel miserable. He tortures her every night at the dinner table while a helpless Roseann watches. Maggie wishes he would die and dreams of escaping Fred for good. Outside Roseann's window hides a creepy voyeur named Vincent (Vincent Kartheiser) who snaps roll after roll of film documenting his crush's unhappiness. Vincent longs to be her white knight and when the time is right he plans on rescuing Roseann. At her breaking point Maggie begins an affair with a young man named Chris (Jeffrey Wright) who she meets one night at a club. She sets off a horrible chain of events that begins with rape and ends in a murder that lands Maggie on Death Row. Her entire family is affected by her choices and their lives will be altered forever. The film does a very good job of showing the horrors that take place behind closed doors of seemingly perfect, affluent families. The actors really excel at making these characters believable and sympathetic. Ironside, a veteran of many horror/sci-fi films, is certainly creepy, but his Fred is a man desperate to connect with his stepdaughter. He clearly loves her and her mother but he doesn't know how to express it. Barkin, in a very reserved performance, is heartbreaking as the long suffering wife who saw her chance for escape and took it and who pays the ultimate price. DeBello, a familiar face in many a teen film, is his usual obnoxious and rude self but he actually turns in one of his best performances. He is an extremely supportive, and protective boyfriend to Roseann who is willing to do anything to keep her safe from harm. Unfortunately he's easily manipulated by her and he pays the price for it. My favorite performance is that of Kartheiser. He's terrific as the oddball outsider who shows up to school wearing garlands of garlic to ward off evil spirits. All the teens think they can label him a weirdo and pay him no attention but he is very perceptive of their plight and is the only one offering them any solutions. It's a well made film that raises good points and makes everyone responsible for their actions.
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A great indepedent film
Added 3/26/2008
Wathcing this film one does think of Amercian Beauty. It's sort of a dark take on suburan life. Moncia Kenna is wonderful in the lead role as a girl who convices her boyfriend played with excelent pussy whipped charm by James DeBello. to do the unthinkable. Vincenet Krashter is also good as a neighbor who knows more then he leads on.
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Nothing special
Added 2/26/2005
This particular story could be turned into a breath-taking film with the right director. Too much is held back, and the film seemed all too typical. The director does not give a true, gritty, raw look into the troubled life this young girl led, and the story that unfolded. On the bright side, Vincent Karthieser is brilliant, and hes about the only one. Though there is nothing that makes this film stand out as great, it is entertaining, and will keep your attention.
Overall, its worth watching. A decent film I suppose. But it wont be one for the ages. It wont be one that will leave you "shocked" or "stunned". For a true gritty look into the troubled lives of adolesence with a slightly similar story...A movie that will really leave you stunned, watch 'Bully' instead.
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Quite an enigma
Added 7/20/2004
There's no better way to put it, this film is an enigma, at least for me. At times it can be laughable because of how serious it takes itself and at other moments you get drawn into the obsessive tone of the film. It's hard to categorize this film when it simply wants to enjoy being anonymous and ellusive. The film would probably be a good cult movie if only it had a cult following. Though it could never live up to the competitors, including Donnie Darko (which had a better script, actors, and director).Though being a very loose adaptation of the classic novel, it might draw people to enquire about the novel. I would hope that would be one of the outcomes of people viewing this film. But if you're looking for a dark teen film watch Donnie Darko instead.
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"Crime + Punishment" DVD Review
Added 6/2/2004
Rob Schmidt's modern day take on Dostoyevsky is a promising film that is so drowned in glossy imagery and bleak characters that it never seems to generate the type of interest in story-telling that it should. Monica Keena is the beautiful head cheerleader who seems to have the perfect life but in reality is trapped in a suburban nightmare. Vincent Kartheiser ("Another Day In Paradise") is the token bright but misunderstood outcast who lusts for Keena but can't find a way to her heart. When she murders her abusive stepfather with the help of her jock boyfriend, the evidence ends up pointing to her mother. This leads to a cycle of events that never seem to be captured with the level of drama or intesity that you'd expect. "Crime + Punishment" is as dark and devoid of energy as Larry Clark's "Kids" or Darren Aronofsky's "Requeim For A Dream" but it doesn't stand out the way they did. There are some solid perfomances from Keena and the always-dependable Michael Ironside as her drunken stepdad but none of the characters ever seem to stand out. While the story bares a passing resemblance to "American Beauty" in some areas, Schmidt never seems to move past his love for visual flare and give us any type of intriguing character moments. Keena's closing narrative makes for a good way to end the film but it seems like a case of "too little, too late" in my opinion.
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Solid acting highlights this intelligent drama
Added 3/18/2009
To the outside world it seems like Roseann Skolnick (Monica Keena) is your typical privileged teen. She's the head cheerleader who dates a popular football player named Jimmy (James DeBello). Her family lives in a huge mansion in the wealthy part of town. However Roseann lives a far darker existence that comes complete with a drunk step dad who is verbally abusive to his wife. Fred (Michael Ironside) is a bitter drunk whose only satisfaction in life comes from making his wife Maggie (Ellen Barkin) feel miserable. He tortures her every night at the dinner table while a helpless Roseann watches. Maggie wishes he would die and dreams of escaping Fred for good. Outside Roseann's window hides a creepy voyeur named Vincent (Vincent Kartheiser) who snaps roll after roll of film documenting his crush's unhappiness. Vincent longs to be her white knight and when the time is right he plans on rescuing Roseann. At her breaking point Maggie begins an affair with a young man named Chris (Jeffrey Wright) who she meets one night at a club. She sets off a horrible chain of events that begins with rape and ends in a murder that lands Maggie on Death Row. Her entire family is affected by her choices and their lives will be altered forever. The film does a very good job of showing the horrors that take place behind closed doors of seemingly perfect, affluent families. The actors really excel at making these characters believable and sympathetic. Ironside, a veteran of many horror/sci-fi films, is certainly creepy, but his Fred is a man desperate to connect with his stepdaughter. He clearly loves her and her mother but he doesn't know how to express it. Barkin, in a very reserved performance, is heartbreaking as the long suffering wife who saw her chance for escape and took it and who pays the ultimate price. DeBello, a familiar face in many a teen film, is his usual obnoxious and rude self but he actually turns in one of his best performances. He is an extremely supportive, and protective boyfriend to Roseann who is willing to do anything to keep her safe from harm. Unfortunately he's easily manipulated by her and he pays the price for it. My favorite performance is that of Kartheiser. He's terrific as the oddball outsider who shows up to school wearing garlands of garlic to ward off evil spirits. All the teens think they can label him a weirdo and pay him no attention but he is very perceptive of their plight and is the only one offering them any solutions. It's a well made film that raises good points and makes everyone responsible for their actions.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
A great indepedent film
Added 3/26/2008
Wathcing this film one does think of Amercian Beauty. It's sort of a dark take on suburan life. Moncia Kenna is wonderful in the lead role as a girl who convices her boyfriend played with excelent pussy whipped charm by James DeBello. to do the unthinkable. Vincenet Krashter is also good as a neighbor who knows more then he leads on.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Nothing special
Added 2/26/2005
This particular story could be turned into a breath-taking film with the right director. Too much is held back, and the film seemed all too typical. The director does not give a true, gritty, raw look into the troubled life this young girl led, and the story that unfolded. On the bright side, Vincent Karthieser is brilliant, and hes about the only one. Though there is nothing that makes this film stand out as great, it is entertaining, and will keep your attention.
Overall, its worth watching. A decent film I suppose. But it wont be one for the ages. It wont be one that will leave you "shocked" or "stunned". For a true gritty look into the troubled lives of adolesence with a slightly similar story...A movie that will really leave you stunned, watch 'Bully' instead.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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