Crimes Imaginários

Everyone who thinks Harvey can only inhabit violent, suffering Martin Scorcese type stories will be amazed at his affecting and emotional turn here, as a father struggling to raise his 2 daughters. Guilt and regret figure prominently in the plot line, which is narrated from a diary by the wonderful Fairuka Balk. Kelly Lynch gives a brief but sad performance as the mother. One of Kietel's best contains his usual trademark shouting scenes but overall: his least bloody and tortured character is also his finest time on film.

This is a great movie. I'm amazed that it got made and done so well. First kudos go to Sheila Ballantyne who wrote the novel. A story like this cannot be made up in committee or by hiring the hottest screen writer in town. It has to be lived. There's no question that Ballantyne lived it. And then it has to be understood in the light of love before it can be shared with us. And she did that.

Second kudos go to Tony Drazan who directed and interpreted. It can be seen that he loved the story and he wanted it to be beautiful, and he made it so.

He picked the dearest, sweetest girls to play the parts of Sonya and Greta at various ages. And he had to have the right man for their father, a flawed man, like all of us, a man doing the best he can, a man with values that don't really work, a man who lost his young wife to cancer and was left to raise his two daughters alone, a man like Arthur Miller's Willie Loman who had big dreams never realized, a man neither hero not villain; in short a man who had to be played with delicacy and without maudlin sentiment. Harvey Keitel fit the part, that of a schemer and a dreamer and a self-deluded hustling con man, and did a fantastic, flawless job.

Fairuza Balk, who played Sonya was wonderful, and Elizabeth Moss as Greta was adorable beyond expression, and so beautifully directed. The girl who played the young Sonya was not only excellent, but looked enough like Fairuza Balk to be her younger sister: perfect casting. And Kelly Lynch who had a limited role as the mother was exquisite.

The interaction between the father and the daughters was painfully veracious, filled with real- life tension and heart-breaking disappointments, but done without abuse and without any of the dysfunctional family sicknesses so often expressed these days. We see his failure as a father on one level, and yet in the end we see through the eyes and the voice of Sonya a greater truth: in spite of his weaknesses he actually succeeded as a father. In fact we see that whether he knew it or not, the one thing that he did right in his life, although he wavered plenty, was bringing up his girls against the great odds of his defective character. And the love shown him by his daughters, so beautifully projected by both Balk and Moss, was wonderful to experience since it is so seldom seen these days when the usual style is to trash men and their part in the family. And the nonexploitive, nurturing and loving role of Sonya's English teacher, played with a fine delicacy by Vincent D'Onfrio, was a much-needed change from the usual cinematic use of teachers as sexual lechers. In this movie we can see that men are people too. (Hello!)

I should mention that the screenplay by Kristine Johnson and Davia Nelson was carefully crafted to showcase the story dramatically, and to warn you that this is a tear jerker. It starts a little slow, and seems a touch old fashioned, but stay with it: it's a beautiful movie, one the best I've ever seen.

(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!)

In my opinion 'Imaginary Crimes' along with 'Fight Club' are the best films of the 90's. 'Imaginary Crimes' may not have the most original story around but it's done to perfection. It tells it's sad story in a way that's never overly depressing and the performances are all top notch, with the standouts being Fairuza Balk and Harvey Keitel who are both totally amazing. Specials mention most go to Anthony Drazan for his superb direction especially in the scene where Balk refuses to go with Keitel to Reno. Anyone who watches this film without getting a tear in the eye must be made of stone. 10/10

Harvey keitel is ray, single, gruff dad, trying to raise his two daughters. He's an inventor, but his inventions never seem to bring in any money. About twenty five minutes in, we hear three important rules, so i'm sure they will be important later. Maybe. Maybe not. And why does sonya have a scarf on her head for so much of the film? Confusing, since this is a period piece, from the early 1960s. Two possibilities. The trivia tells us that fairuza balk had to return for re-shoots, so her hair had changed. We also see that balk is named "turquoise" in farsi, so it could have something to do with her culture or beliefs. It's not explained in the film. It's mostly good. A story of family, loss, trying to hold together. Small roles for vincent d'onofrio, chris penn, and a twelve year old elisabeth moss! Directed by anthony drazan, for warner brothers. We also see short clips of a couple much older warner brothers movies. Chris penn was about thirty in this film, but died young at age 40. The author, sheila ballantyne, passed away in 2007, just about a week after her husband. It's pretty good. A family tries to hold it together, but the dad is so messed up, it's even more challenging for the daughters.

Imaginary Crimes features one of the world's best "unknown" actresses Fairuza Balk (Personal Velocity, Almost Famous, The Craft, American History X) and the immensely talented Harvey Keitel.

Keitel plays a recently widowed hustler/con man who is left trying to raise his two daughters, teenager Balk and her 12 year old sister. He doesn't have a clue about raising kids. Worse, he has to hide his shady business dealings from them.

Balk is a natural born writer, who is befriended by her English teacher (Vincent D'Onofrio). He provides the supportive father figure that Keitel cannot.

Imaginary Crimes is a coming of age story. It's a small, quiet film, but very effective. The acting is superb and Balk more than holds her own with the great Keitel. Highly recommended for the outstanding performances of Balk, Keitel and D'Onofrio. Balk is one of my favorite actresses.