Crimes of the Past

I loved David Rasche in Burn After Reading and I'm also a big fan of Rohm from Law & Order – Not to mention Eric Roberts… All of the actors were really excellent in the movie! It's both a thriller and a family drama, which I found to be refreshing. The story follows Tommy Sparrow who is wounded in a CIA operation and his journey to reunite with his daughter Josephine. Rohm did a great job with her role and really created an interesting and complicated character. It's an intelligent film and isn't packed full of action. It does require you to tune in to catch the details, but once you do it really builds well. It's shot very well and is a very good character driven film that blends the genres.

The ambitious espionage thriller blends well with an intense family drama and weaves together a good story. Thomas Sparrow (David Rasche) plays a CIA agent in Berlin during the Cold War era who was involved in transferring of money. The assignment goes wrong... And now Sparrow is retired and has come back to Seattle in hopes of reuniting with his daughter Josephine (Elisabeth Rohm), whom he hasn't seen for years. The film is engrossing, and very well acted!Eric Roberts delivers a wonderful performance as Josephine's shrink, who also happens to be a former CIA employee. I saw the Hollywood Reporter Review which mentioned that the more crucial accomplishment to the film was the insight into all of the characters and that it was a densely layered mosaic, and I agreed.

The story of a retired CIA agent and the daughter he abandoned 26 years ago plays more like a family relationship primer than a spy flick. Technically the film is seriously flawed. I could live with the black and white to color transitions representing past and present, but the shaky camera and in focus out of focus shots are nothing but a damn annoyance. The story is way too simplistic for a film involving espionage. The acting, even by usually reliable David Rasche and Eric Roberts, is uninspired, with the little granddaughter stealing every scene she appears in. Unless you are a big fan of the actors, steer clear. - MERK

This was an excellent film, which took me by surprise. The story and direction managed to masterfully blend the suspense of the spy genre film, while building wonderful characters and leaving you with something under your skin. The performances were outstanding! David Rasche, Eric Roberts and Elisabeth Rohm were brilliant! It was visually beautiful and the evocative. I was reminded in ways of Coppola's The Conversation, with Gene Hackman. Elisabeth Rohm was amazing. She created such a complex and rich character and should be awarded for it. I look forward to seeing the film again. It was excellent from start to finish.

Quite frankly I am ticked off that the top reviewer made this film out to be something special, something amazing, something worth watching again and again. As it turns out it is the exact opposite. Bad script, bad acting, bad camera work, annoying music, just plain bad all around. It became unbearable after around 20 minutes in and I shut it off. IMDb really should take that review down or bury it, as it was clearly written by someone involved with the film. "A superb film, which MASTERFULLY blends the spy genre with themes of family."? This film is in NO way superb, masterful or family oriented. Do yourself a big favor and stay far far away from this film, its a complete waste of time.