Crime Plus Punishment in Suburbia

Product Description This contemporary urban fable, loosely based on Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, is a gripping and provocative account of a young woman's attempt to permanently end the advances of her abusive stepfather. Starring Monica Keena ("Dawson's Creek"), Vincent Kartheiser (Another Day In Paradise) and James DeBello (American Pie), along with veterans Ellen Barkin (Drop Dead Gorgeous) and Michael Ironside (The Perfect Storm), Crime + Punishment in Suburbia is a deeply affecting and utterly disturbing tale of betrayal and redemption. Rosanne (Keena) is a cheerleader who dates a football player (DeBello) and gets drunk at parties. But she's also akiller. She convinces her boyfriend to sneak out of a pep rally for a date with destiny, revenge and the brutal murder of her abusive stepfather. But once she's gotten away with murder, Rosanne is shocked to learn that her mother's untimely arrival at the scene of the crime has put her behind bars!Now Rosanne must struggle with her inner demons. Can she do the right thing or will her Mom take the fall for Rosanne's vicious crime? Amazon.com This very loose update of Dostoyevsky will never gain the original's classic status, but on its own unseemly little terms it's an efficient genre flick. Trapped in a suburban Hell with an alcoholic stepfather (the always nasty Michael Ironside), suffering, molested high-schooler Rosanne (Monica Keena) begs her quarterback boyfriend (James DeBello) to help her bump him off. Things get complicated with the involvement of her weary mother (scrappy Ellen Barkin, still waiting for a decent role) and a sensitive, outsider classmate (Vincent Kartheiser). Larry Gross's script has Barkin's selfish character acting too much the idiot, though you won't hear a bad note from her or the rest of the appealing young cast (the invaluable Jeffrey Wright also has a nice bit as Barkin's lover). Even if director Rob Schmidt has too much of an MTV sensibility (showy cuts, booming soundtrack, etc.) and indulges himself with the gruesome murder, his glossy sensitivity to teen trauma redeems some of the pulp. The film can be seen in widescreen on DVD, as well as heard in French and Spanish. --Steve Wiecking