Crime + Punishment

Roseanne(Monica Keena) is a popular and beautiful student that is admired by a lot of people, especially by a lonely outcast Vincent(Vincent Kartheiser) who is obsessed with her and follows her around everywhere, hoping to get noticed . But Roseanne isn't so perfect like everybody thinks, she has a horrible life with her stepfather who one night, after her mother leaves, rapes her. The next day, Roseanne is totally devastated and she decides that she wants to kill him along with her boyfriend Jimmy(James DeBello). This movie started out good, it seemed like it was going to be a dark teenage drama but near the end, it turned into this cheesy bad love story with no plot. That was the problem with this story, it didn't really fit in anywhere. The only character i really liked was Vincent, he was so interesting and he had so much soul, not to mention that he was gorgeous. Anyways, I would give Crime and Punishment in Suburbia 7/10

"C&P in Suburbia" is a dark and somewhat staged psychodrama with misanthropic overtones which focuses on the teen daughter of a family in crisis and her search for self-actualization. This well cast, well acted, well shot, well directed flick's story is likely to be too black or severe for many. However, those who feel inclined to write this film off as "unrealistic junk" should remember one word. Columbine.

Roseanne Skolnick (Monica Keena) is a popular cheerleader and girlfriend of the football player Jimmy (James DeBello), and she has a very dysfunctional family: her mother Maggie Skolnick (Ellen Barkin) is having an affair with a bartender and her stepfather Fred Skolnick (Michael Ironside) is a drunken and aggressive man. Vincent (Vincent Kartheiser) is a sweet and weird teenager, who studies in the same class and has a crush on Roseanne. He follows her everywhere with his camera, taking lots of pictures of her in the most different places or situations. When Roseanne is abused by her stepfather, she decides to kill him, with the support of Jimmy. However, her mother Maggie takes the blame and goes to the court for trial, being accused of murder. During the trial of her mother, Roseanne has to live with her guilt, being supported by Vincent. In the end, she has to decide: leave her mother be convicted and live with the feeling of guilt for the rest of her life, or assume the responsibility for the crime. "Crime and Punishment in Suburbia" is a surprisingly great teen free adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's "Crime and Punishment". The screenplay is very well developed and the young cast has excellent performance. Although having a great moral in the end, with the redemption of Roseanne, the direction is so good that is able to conclude the plot without being corny. I like good contemporaries free adaptations of famous romances, and this one has not disappointed me. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Crime + Castigo" ("Crime + Punishment")

I would be more perplexed by the low rating and the many vituperous reviews if I didn't understand as much as I do about family dysfunction, alcoholism, irresponsible behavior and all that. Some people don't like this much truth in their faces. Oddly, it's not just the perps; it's often the victims, as well.

For me, this is just an artfully rendered case study of the stuff I deal with four days a week. But I see more Victor Hugo (and "Les Miserables") here than I do Dostoyevsky.

Yeah; I agree the execution is uneven. At times to the point of being almost senseless. But that may be part of the charm. Life in the world described here -is- uneven. At times to the point of being almost senseless. (How many adolescent females with alcoholic parents have I known who think life is senseless? A hundred? -Two- hundred?)

Can't say I "enjoyed" this movie. The "Jimmy Stewart" character (from "Rear Window") is just a little too obsessed to work in the world of a young victim / victimizer who seems, at least, to be trying to make sense of it all. The trial scenes may well be meant to have a dreamlike quality, but they just seem disconnected. And the whole trip is plain ugly.

But the fact that the whole trip -is- so ugly is a major reason why this film demands to be seen. Alcohol; frustrated, narcissistic fathers; cougar moms and hottie daughters are a recipe for disaster that's being cooked daily in suburban America. This is reality in modern America. It'd be nice to put a stop to it before our whole culture becomes dysfunctional.

Nice little wake-up call here.

The 3 best aspects to this film are the acting, cinematography and soundtrack.

This film just made me a big fan of Monica Keena and Vincent Kartheiser. Both delivered dynamic and intriguing performances. Monica Keena's character is transformed throughout the film and she's able to convey that arc with great subtlety. Vincent Kartheiser's character was also conveyed very well, not overdone like so many other goth/nerd characters are portrayed.

The cinematography was great - visually compelling imagery and an unsteadiness throughout that lends to the feel of uneasiness with what is happening to the characters. It lends itself to the feelings, moods of not only the characters in the film but to the viewer as well. A great film engages the viewer and makes them feel as though they have been drawn into the world of the film.

Finally I'm a big fan of music and soundtracks that aren't cliché and don't dominate a scene. I'd love to get my hands on a list of all the songs used in the film.

The writing was decent, and many of the supporting actors played their parts very well - this easily could have devolved into overblown and overacted performances but nobody in the cast fell prey to that trap.

There's a strange morality to the story - one not easily discerned after one viewing. Of course there can be comparisons to the film "American Beauty" and while that one garnered all the praise and awards I believe this film is much more challenging yet far more fulfilling. It's more subtle and the answers aren't so easy to ascertain. I'll be watching this movie many times and I have a feeling I'll discover something new each time. Great movie!