CRIME & PUNISHMENT IN SUBURBIA (2000)

 

Directed By: Rob Schmidt 

Written By: Larry Gross

Cinematography: Bobby Bukowski 

Editor: Gabriel Wyre 

Cast: Monica Keena, Vincent Kartheiser, James DeBello, Jeffrey Wright, Ellen Barkin, Michael Ironside, Conchata Ferrell, Lucinda Jenney, Marshall Teague, Nicki Aycox, Bonnie Somerville 

This is a contemporary fable loosely based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's "Crime and Punishment". Roseanne is outwardly a perfect and popular teen. However, her image is hiding the abuse at her stepfather's hands, and she decides to take revenge. The events that follow are a mix of dark humor and an exploration of modern morality as Roseanne faces not only a fellow suburbanite who knows, but her own conscience as well.

This film is better than expected considering its title. As the film is artfully shot with plenty of vivid colors and surreal imagery and scenes.

This is a pulp-ish tale that involves teenagers that sounds like a recipe for disaster but is actually not your typical teen tale. It is told with some thrills but in a mature way.

Where the teens seem more adult and responsible than the adults taking care of them. Though Michael Ironsides is the villain he paints a human under the evil that shows why and how he ended up that way.

Though partially you should feel sorry for Ellen Barkin’s character. She is almost as evil as the monster she runs away from but leaves her daughter to deal with while selfishly escaping while never looking back.

The film is deeper than most audiences might expect. 

The weakness of the film is the same weakness that messed up its marketing. Dooming it to an unforgettable oddity In the home video (at the time) market.

The reason I saw it originally was that it played at the movie theater I was working at. I ended up watching it more than once. As for me, the trailer was hypnotizing and dramatic. 

The film tries to have its cake and eat it too. Appearing dramatic but is filmed as glossy with distracting camera angles and tricks. Plus rapid editing works fewer times than it actually does.

Monica Keena gives haunting beautiful big eyes that convey her emotions. Yet also show the power she has as a seductress for certain characters.

Vincent Kartheiser is off best and yet believable as the boy next door obsessed with her. Sure he has shades of Wes Bentley in AMERICAN BEAUTY (Which this Film seems Inspired by) but this seems a bit more accessible. While it is intoxicating as you watch it. It might be forgettable afterward. As in the end, it becomes too much of an open and shut case though with hints of ambivalence. 

Grade: B-

CRIME & PUNISHMENT IN SUBURBIA (2000)