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U.S. 2007
Director: Tommy O'Haver
Cast: Ellen Page, Catherine Keener, Hayley McFarland, Scout Taylor-Compton, Hannah Leigh Dworkin
Rating: R
Release Date: May 10th 2008 (TV); Aug 19th 2008 (DVD)
Running Time: 1 hour 38 minutes
The Movie Review
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| AN AMERICAN CRIME |
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An American Crime...Fellow moviegoers might probably wonder why did the filmmakers name it like that, while the audiences have watched so many crime-related movies happening in America. The answer is actually an open-interpretation. However after watching it, arguably most people would have the same answer.
An American Crime is based on a true story about a girl named Sylvia Likens. Arguably this drama movie is also based on a book/novel written by John Dean, published by Borf Book. The novel is entitled The Indiana Torture Slaying, because Sylvia Marie Likens was living in Indianapolis.
Sylvia was a third child of Lester and Betty Likens. Both Lester and Betty were carnival workers who also didn't have a happy marriage. The family moves a lot that force them to board out Sylvia and her sister Jenny to a woman that they just recently meet, Gertrud Baniszewski. Gertrud is a highly depressed and poor woman who has been hurt many times by men, she lives with her children and pay for their food by ironing her neighbours' clothes. She is also forced (by the economy) to offer Lester a place to live for Sylvia and Jenny for $ 20 a week. At first Gertrud treats Sylvia and Jenny nicely but after the payment comes late, Gertrud could no longer hold her frustration and start to torture poor Sylvia.
About this tragic story of the Likens, actually in 2007 there was already a film about it entitled The Girl Next Door that's based on a novel by Jack Ketchum, which inspired by the tragedy of Sylvia Likens. That movie however falls to Horror & Thriller genre, because of it emphasizes more on the torture and for the vivid interpretation of it. An American Crime, on the other hand, emphasizes more on the character development, on in-depth view to the psychological conditions of Sylvia and Gertrud. An American Crime tries to tell the story from both the antagonist and the protagonist's perspective, thus somehow making the border between the right and evil becomes blurry.
Ellen Page's acting is great although this is not her best performance, but her look and her hairdo, eerily looks so much alike with the real Sylvia Likens. However, for portraying what really happened to Sylvia, Ellen Page is a bit of a miscast, for Ellen would have had to give it all out. Catherine Keener, a very experienced actress that has starred in many movies since 1986, has also given a great performance as the depressed Gertrud. However she looks too kind and too understanding for her role as Gertrud. Probably it's the script, I don't know. Other actors' performance sadly could not be said as great.
Speaking of the script, I find the storyline of An American Crime is half-baked with quite many incidents and torture being hidden. It coyly tells the real story of Sylvia. If fellow moviegoers have actually read the real story of Sylvia, you could tell that this movie is not entirely honest for the torture that poor late Sylvia received was much (and much) more worst. So even though on some details An American Crime is better, because it's largely based on actual court transcripts from the trial of Gertrud and her accomplices, but from a lot of other facets, The Girl Next Door feels more real to the real incidents.
The only great credit to this movie is the soundtrack that's very eerie and chilling and somehow represents the deep sadness that Sylvia has to endure.
Back to why they call it An American Crime, perhaps, because it's happening in the era where crime was not as fertile as today, the era where the ice cream truck (a sign of tranquility) still passes the neighbourhood. Or perhaps, because the neighbourhood (the children) of Gertrude is very "supportive" to the torture of Sylvia.
As a movie, An American Crime is a great movie. But as a real story-based movie, An American Crime should have told the story more clearly.
© iwan pranowo of Movielogy.com
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