Crime et Châtiment

I came across this on Netflix UK, and thought why not.

Well I have to say it's one of the worst films I have ever seen. It's more like a play than a film.

Almost everything about the film is bad, but its setting and weirdness do give it something, so worth a watch if you want to experience something different.

The plot is OK, but the characters seem a bit dim, constantly explaining the obvious and doing everything as you would expect.

Again, its a very odd film and worth a watch just for that aspect.

Enjoy!

one of films who deserves, for the good intentions, all the applause. Crispin Glover has the right to his Raskolnikov and the presence of Vanessa Redgrave, John Hurt, John Neville is a good thing. and, maybe, the only sin is the desire of innovation, ignoring everything , of the director. sure, the ambition to transform the story of Rodion Raskolnikov in an universal explanation for the Russian history is not a real bad idea. but, in this case, it is not reasonable. "Crime and Punishment" is a solid novel. it has all the tools for a great/decent adaptation in its structure and words and characters. it is not a play who becomes , in the mind of director, something more than original. so, it could be better. if the ambition to impress was low.

As a fan and recent reader of the book, I was intrigued to see that this film was coming on TV. I literally could not get through 15 minutes of this god-awful movie without turning it off. I made an account on IMDb seconds ago specifically so that I could post a review about what a horrific mistake of a film this is. The plot is scrambled and rushed, bearing no resemblance to the actual novel, which I may add is a masterpiece of Russian literature. The acting is flat and stale, and the character development is virtually nonexistent. The minimal character development that does occur, however, is completely incongruous with anything that happens in the novel. Though the book is not particularly long, Dostoevsky manages to develop his characters fully and consistently, a concept which was obviously lost on the group of miscreants who made this "movie". The entire concept of setting this story in the present day is absolutely ludicrous to begin with, but the execution of that misguided idea is so hamfisted that it's nearly painful to watch. This would have been a disappointing film on its own, but the fact that it has been produced under the name "Crime and Punishment", a story which is in no way relevant to this piece of garbage, is a serious crime in itself.

I wanted to watch the 2002 version of "Crime And Punishment" but to my surprised, there's actually two versions of that movie released the same year! Dang, I ended up seeing the wrong one. Well, I'm going to review this anyway. This was a pretty good movie for me. I went into this completely blind. That is, I have no idea what the plot of the original book is.

I can see why this version isn't that beloved. The acting, especially Crispin Glover's can get really silly at times. Still, this was a nice way to be introduced to this story. I have obviously never read the original book. This one seemed to focus on things that weren't relevant to the story. I'm sure I'll find the right version next time. ***

So, firstly, I must say that I read the book a week ago and I still have a fresh memory of it. Today I watched this movie, and I would say that you better have to read the book first, so that the movie don't spoil it, in case you read it. And you really should to.

The idea behind the movie is really great, and unfortunately, it fails to pass the full meaning very well. However, you should keep in mind that it is a movie, and the book wasn't made for being one. That happens because of the great emotional presentation and the unique character and thoughts each person has in the book.

So, watching this movie, you lose a part of Dostoevsky's masterpiece. What is more, many details are missing that really give life and making the novel feel real. There are a few differences with the book as well, insignificant however.

"So must I assume this movie is garbage?" Of course not. The actors are great in the majority of cases, and the plot is very solid and good enough conveyed. Nothing great at effects or music (not more than 5 soundtracks, think so). But it's a decent visual representation of the epic novel. Read it and watch the movie as I said, you won't regret it.

PS: Keep in mind that they can be both depressing enough, but Very Good at their class (especially the novel).