An American CrimeMY REVIEW
An American Crime is a true story about a 1960 Indiana housewife who kept a girl locked in her basement as punishment and eventually murdered her. Most of the film is based off actual courtroom testimony from the 1966 trial of Gertrude Baniszewski. She was eventually found guilty of first degree murder, and most her young children were tried as accomplices and also sentenced to prison. An American Crime is a film that debuted on Showtime earlier this year and it stars Oscar nominee Catherine Keener as the abusive and murderous stay at home mom (Being John Malkovich, Into the Wild) and young Oscar nominee Ellen Page (Juno) as Sylvia, the girl who was brutally tortured and murdered.
I'm dissapointed this film was not released theatrically, becuase I would love to consider it as one of the better dramatic films of 2008. Sadly, straight-to-TV/DVD films do not qualify for my awards. This movie is deeply disturbing and emotionally effective. I never even heard of this story until this movie, now I'm curious to research more into it. The mood and setting of this movie is very dark and forboding and you never really feel happy while watching it. The movie inerweaves the courtroom scenes in with the telling of the actual story of Sylvia. These court scenes aren't all that engaging, but on the other hand, provide some interesting details to the story. The direction of the film is a little under average, but we are talking TV quality movies here, not big budget films.
Halfway through this movie, when all the bad things start to happen, I almost felt uncomfortable watching it. It wasn't just this Gertrude woman abusing this young girl, it was her children and the neighbor kids. Sylvia was thrown in the basement, wasn't fed or given much to drink. The kids claimed in their testimonies that they thought they were punishing Sylvia and that their mother said it was OK. They were all a bit scared of their mother. These kids would kick Sylvia, punch her in the face, spray water all over her, tie her up and beat her. And under the supervision of Gertrude, they burned the quote: "I'm a prostitue and proud of it" into Sylvia's stomach. This is a very difficult movie to stomach, but at the same time very heartbraking and you almost can't take your eyes of the movie.
Why was this happening you wonder? Gertrude had 7 seven kids (only 6 in the film however) and she was very protective of them. Sylvia was not her child, but just staying in their home for a few months while her parents were away (her sister was also there). Some of her kids felt jealous towards Sylvia and started telling lies about her to their mother. The biggest one being that Syliva was spreading rumors that one of the older girls was a slut, and is pregnant (which she actually was pregnant). Gertrude didn't let anything come in the way of her children, so she punished Syliva. It's a hard story to tell and very hard one to watch. You hate this woman with a passion, but at the same time feel slightly bad for her.
Ellen Page was excellent, once again, in this film. This character was far from any character shes every played. Sylvia is a sweet and innocent girl who was the unfortunate victim of pure evil. Page displays Sylivas fear and terror so well you believe this was really her. I read Page actually starved herself to get into the role of this girl. That dedication to this role definitely shows, and Page is just a rising actress, and I think she will win an Oscar one day. The star of the film is Catherine Keener. I haven't really seen her in a whole lot of movies, but man is she brilliant here. She was recently nominated for Best Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for the Primetime Emmy Awards. Deservedly so. She captures the essence of this horrible woman, and delivers a breaktrhough performance. Really brilliant.
An American Crime is not for everyone. You have to be able to stomach some awful subject matter, but if you can do that, I HIGHLY suggest this film to you. It is a tragic movie, but one I think you must see.
I'm dissapointed this film was not released theatrically, becuase I would love to consider it as one of the better dramatic films of 2008. Sadly, straight-to-TV/DVD films do not qualify for my awards. This movie is deeply disturbing and emotionally effective. I never even heard of this story until this movie, now I'm curious to research more into it. The mood and setting of this movie is very dark and forboding and you never really feel happy while watching it. The movie inerweaves the courtroom scenes in with the telling of the actual story of Sylvia. These court scenes aren't all that engaging, but on the other hand, provide some interesting details to the story. The direction of the film is a little under average, but we are talking TV quality movies here, not big budget films.
Halfway through this movie, when all the bad things start to happen, I almost felt uncomfortable watching it. It wasn't just this Gertrude woman abusing this young girl, it was her children and the neighbor kids. Sylvia was thrown in the basement, wasn't fed or given much to drink. The kids claimed in their testimonies that they thought they were punishing Sylvia and that their mother said it was OK. They were all a bit scared of their mother. These kids would kick Sylvia, punch her in the face, spray water all over her, tie her up and beat her. And under the supervision of Gertrude, they burned the quote: "I'm a prostitue and proud of it" into Sylvia's stomach. This is a very difficult movie to stomach, but at the same time very heartbraking and you almost can't take your eyes of the movie.
Why was this happening you wonder? Gertrude had 7 seven kids (only 6 in the film however) and she was very protective of them. Sylvia was not her child, but just staying in their home for a few months while her parents were away (her sister was also there). Some of her kids felt jealous towards Sylvia and started telling lies about her to their mother. The biggest one being that Syliva was spreading rumors that one of the older girls was a slut, and is pregnant (which she actually was pregnant). Gertrude didn't let anything come in the way of her children, so she punished Syliva. It's a hard story to tell and very hard one to watch. You hate this woman with a passion, but at the same time feel slightly bad for her.
Ellen Page was excellent, once again, in this film. This character was far from any character shes every played. Sylvia is a sweet and innocent girl who was the unfortunate victim of pure evil. Page displays Sylivas fear and terror so well you believe this was really her. I read Page actually starved herself to get into the role of this girl. That dedication to this role definitely shows, and Page is just a rising actress, and I think she will win an Oscar one day. The star of the film is Catherine Keener. I haven't really seen her in a whole lot of movies, but man is she brilliant here. She was recently nominated for Best Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for the Primetime Emmy Awards. Deservedly so. She captures the essence of this horrible woman, and delivers a breaktrhough performance. Really brilliant.
An American Crime is not for everyone. You have to be able to stomach some awful subject matter, but if you can do that, I HIGHLY suggest this film to you. It is a tragic movie, but one I think you must see.
Mikey @ The Movies Official Rating: **** out of *****
To view this films trailer, click this link: An American Crime
*This is the 103rd new film I've seen and reviewed this year.
*This film is now on DVD.
*This film was also a TV premiered movie in May of 2008.
*Straight-to-DVD films do not qualify for my awards.
*This is the 103rd new film I've seen and reviewed this year.
*This film is now on DVD.
*This film was also a TV premiered movie in May of 2008.
*Straight-to-DVD films do not qualify for my awards.
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