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Crime and punishment in suburbia - Monica Keena, Ellen Barkin, Michael Ironside, Rob Schmidt

Threat advisory: Severe - Severe risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

No-one stays innocent forever.

Roseanne Skolnick (Monica Keena) has trouble at home. Her step-father, Fred (Michael Ironside), is a raging drunk, and mother Maggie (Ellen Barkin) can't take much more. But her turbulent home life doesn't bother Roseanne because she's about to graduate school and enter into an independent life.

On a night out, Maggie drunkenly flirts with bartender Chris (Jeffrey Wright) and ends up having an affair. This leads Maggie to believe that Fred might be better off dead. When Roseanne is raped by Fred, she shares her mother's sentiments and with the help of her football player boyfriend, Jimmy (James Debello), Roseanne utilises an electric carving knife for the deed.

However, circumstantial evidence points to Maggie as she is arrested and brought to trial. Meanwhile, school loner Vincent (Vincent Kartheiser), the only person Roseanne has left to confide in, finally gets the girl he's after all to himself.

Persons of interest

Monica Keena .... Roseanne Skolnick
Ellen Barkin .... Maggie Skolnick
Michael Ironside .... Fred Skolnick
Vincent Kartheiser .... Vincent
James DeBello .... Jimmy
Jeffrey Wright .... Chris
Conchata Ferrell .... Bella
Nicki Lynn Aycox .... Cecil
Christian Payne .... Dean
Jim Boyce .... Mr Dwyer
Blake Shields .... Moznick
Tommy Perna .... Officer Lambert
Tommy Bush .... Chief Judson
Brad Greenquist .... Calvin Berry
Jeff Lawrence .... Judge Jack
Valerie Wildman .... Prosecutor
Jack Angel .... Russ
Larry Gross .... Screenwriter
Rob Schmidt .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

Crime and punishment in suburbia official movie site
Awards and film festivals:

Sundance Film Festival 2000: Official selection: Dramatic competition

Studios and distributors:

United Artists * 20th Century Fox

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

I saw an adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's book which was so good that I now want to go out and find the book so I can read it. Unlike Cruel intentions, the first of this new genre of great literature masquerading as teen flicks (no, Romeo + Juliet doesn't count because it's already about teens), Crime and punishment in suburbia is a heart-rending, mind-blowing revelation of what life is really like for most people (ie those who are not born with a silver trust account in their mouth).

The pain which people inflict on each other (read some of August Strindberg's plays if you want to know about cruelty) underscores every word, every action, every colour, every sound. every step towards happiness lands in the shadow of some great sorrow. Every love is a betrayal.

Meanwhile, Monica and James are so sweet together that they would be sickening if not for the inequality of power. James is the archetypal big, strong guy whose heart has been captured by a strong woman. Women like that can make guys like that melt like a candle in the sun until nothing is left of the man inside but a drooping shadow of his former self. Do you like the similes and metaphors? I like similes and metaphors. [The Director of Intelligence can live without them: get on with the review! - Director of Intelligence] Jimmy is such a nice guy that he borders on unbelievability but James' performance allows a preview of the depths to which his character will fall. Roseanne's journey is neither as clear nor as straightforward as Jimmy's so Monica plays her cards a lot closer to her chest, tossing out tantalising hints of what is to come.

The high point of Crime and punishment in suburbia is Vincent, the actor and the character. The former is a young gun of extreme good looks who nonetheless manages to come across like some total freak. Dude, he looks like he just walked out of a boy band. As for acting, well, Vinnie manages to combine a voyeuristic obsession with teenage hormones and a messianic compassion that leaves Willem Dafoe's Jesus for dead. No pun intended. Even the heroic riding off into the sunset on a motorbike doesn't dull his performance.

Anyhoo, this is a damned entertaining film that would go down well in a high school English class or in your suburban lounge room. If you have a brain, you can appreciate Crime and punishment in suburbia.

Intelligence analyst

Agent Saxon Hassard

Theatrical report

I saw five stars, but since the Director of Intelligence doesn't let anyone use stars, I give it the big "Severe risk of entertaining activities", and that's all you need to know.