User Reviews

When I first heard about this being based on Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment I was fearful that it was going to be another half-hearted teen version of a classic. I am so glad I was wrong.

While Dostoyevsky made his point with words, Rob Schmidt did the same with the films imagery which truly was both narcotic and haunting. He would make you feel as if you were in some drug induced dream/nightmare. You felt as if you were trapped between Heaven and Hell, happiness and sorrow, love and loss.

As the story progresses you watch the ghosts of Roseanne (Monica Keena) slowly absorb her. She goes from this glowing image of beauty to a shadow of a human being. It's stark and disturbing. While Vincent (Vincent Kartheiser) the seemingly gloomy one, who loves her from the beginning of the film is the sole voice of reason, hope, and beauty in her slowly cascading world of tragedies.

The film epitomizes the continuous hopelessness that many today feel but refuse to acknowledge. Although, I think what the film does best is that it shows us these sadnesses while reinforcing us with the concepts that we can make anything happen if we want to badly enough. Good or bad, we are the only ones responsible for our fates.

"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")

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!

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.

A powerful film that deserves much more attenion and credit than what it's getting. It barely played in theathers here, it was only in for about a week! The movie has wonderful acting by the entire cast. The standouts to me are Monica Keena who is the star of the film. I'm not sure on exactly how old she is, but, I honestly feel, that she does have a future in films. I think an Oscar nomination would be in order for her. But the chances of that happening are slim to none. And Ellen Barkin was wonderful in this movie as Monica's mother. It would also be wonderful to see her up for an Oscar also. But, again, the Academy would never nominate this film for anything. It's not mainstream enough. This is suppose to be a mordern retelling of Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment", while I fail to see any real comparisons other than the moral dilemma of murder, the film does a bad job retelling the story. But even so, I don't think the screenplay was bad. I think it was a very well written film, that makes sense, and is enjoyable to watch. I have nothing but great things to say about this films, but, I don't think it's for everyone. I think that has become obvious due to the very unwarm comments made by not only critics but also viewers. This is a movie I really hope people would watch and give it a try.

I'll admit, I was not in the most jovial of moods when I sat down to view Crime and Punishment in Suburbia, so the plot had a far greater impact than it would have had I been in an upbeat mood. But, at the same time I was expecting yet another glossy teen flick where a mess of pretty people prance around on the screen for ninety minutes, after which the credits roll to the tune of a popular radio hit. However, I found quite the opposite. I was genuinely moved by this film. Though it is not the most original movie I've seen, it touched me in a very unique way.

Ultimately, do not judge this movie by it's generic, mainstream movie cover. It is actually a high quality piece of cinema. And fellow teenagers, drop your Cruel Intentions and Bring It Ons and give this a try. It might not be oscar award material, but it is far more engaging than any of the pg-13 tripe they try and pawn off on you at blockbuster. Give it a shot. If you like it, good. If you don't, oh well.

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

I'll cut to the chase... CRIME AND PUNISHMENT is a famous novel and has been remade a lot of times in movies and TV, and AMERICAN BEAUTY is considered a cult movie and deservingly so. So it's no surprise that some director who probably hadn't better things to do wanted to mix up the two stories. It could have been great right? Well, you are wrong. We'll see about this shall we?

Roseanne Skolnick is a high school student on her last year that has a loving boyfriend named Jimmy and another guy named Vincent (Vincent Kartheiser) has the hots for her but she has a dysfunctional life at her home. Her mother Maggie (Ellen Barkin) is unsastified of her marriage with abusive and alcoholic Fred Skolnick (Michael Ironside) who became Roseanne's stepfather since she was 4. After a while Maggie starts a relationship with bartender Chris (Jeffrey Wright) leaving Roseanne alone with Fred, and here trouble begins. One night during a drunken rage Fred r***s Roseanne leaving her emotionally scarred, and in fact Roseanne will suffer a nervous breakdown at school. Maggie will visits Roseanne and plot with her to kill Fred with the help of Jimmy.

During a party Roseanne and Jimmy briefly go in the house and after a brief struggle Roseanne manages to kill Fred stabbing him multiple times with an electric knife. Maggie, unknown of the fact that Roseanne did the murder, is charged of the murder since she was found at home with the dead body tho she declares herself innocent. In the meanwhile Roseanne and Jimmy's relationship becomes strained because of their shared guilt on Fred's murder and Vincent will become smitten with Roseanne, much for the anger of Jimmy that one night goes berserk in a bar until Chris accepts to drive him home, and during a scuffle between Jimmy, Roseanne, Vincent and Chris the latter's gun shoots Jimmy without killing him. In the end Roseanne will finally confess to have killed Fred Skolnick; after the manslaughter sentence she is picked up by her boyfriend and they drive away... something the viewer will never feel after watching this pile of manure.

I appreciated that the director wanted to tell the CRIME AND PUNISHMENT story in a modern setting but the main problem is that none of the characters were likeable in the least. Roseanne wasn't exactly a saint since she bounces back and forth between her boyfriend and the guy smitten with her. Her mom Maggie looked like she hadn't much of a choice for ending with such a raging alcoholic like Fred, and Chris looked like a blend between a comic relief or a helpful character for the plot. I am not blaming the cast members: they simply had a bad script, accepted blindly and then they did what the director told them. It also came off like copied from AMERICAN BEAUTY with the main difference that in THAT there are at least great performances and likeable characters but here none of that magic required for a great movie is present here.

In substance, if you want to see an adaptation of CRIME AND PUNISHMENT watch all the other versions (including the one from 1998 with Ben Kingsley and Patrick Dempsey) but please avoid this one, it's not that loyal and will leave you frustrated.

Crime and Punishment In Suburbia is just slightly above the normal teen character study of murder and guilt. It's bogged down by uneveness, some scenes feeling genuine and intriguing, others feeling as if they were lifted from the latest MTV video.

Crime and Punishment stars Monica Keena as a popular high school student dating jock boyfriend James Debello and yearned for by loner/outcast Vincent Kartheiser. Her parents' marriage (Ellen Barkin and Michael Ironside) is falling apart, and Keena is unwittingly caught in the middle of their violent breakup. After a altercation with her father, she decides to put him out of his misery.

The story is nothing new or groundbreaking, but the film is elevated by some genuinely disturbing scenes, as well as a few provocative performances. Ironside's pathetic father is a powerhouse of bitterness and brooding rage, and DeBello as the naive, dumb football player boyfriend eminates a tragic quality, bringing compassion to his character: this isn't the stereotypical dumb jock, it's just a young man trying to desperately grasp onto a situation he simply can't understand. These two performances bring the most strength to the film, overshadowing the sometimes cardboard performances by vengeful, doe-eyed daughter Keena and loner Kartheiser.

Crime and Punishment is no breath-taking thrill ride, nor is it a slow-paced potboiler. With an sometimes raw, indie feel to it but sometimes muddled script, it's certainly worth a look, if just for two terrific performances, one from veteran Ironside and the other from newcomer DeBello.

6 out of 10

Crime & Punishment In Suburbia follows the theme and story just as loosely as you'd imagine by glancing at both title and poster. It's It's own little nasty deviation on the classic tale, set in a decadent white neighborhood, and full of characters who are barely hiding the decaying darkness behind their fake personalities. Having never read Dostoyefsky's book myself, I can't in fact tell you how much is different, but I could damn well know that it's probably very much so. It concerns a hot young teen named Roseanne (Monica Keena, with a dash of Brittany Murphy in those eyes) who is outwardly a normal girl, but has elements in her life which start to taint that image and prompt violent behaviour. Her stepdad Fred (Michael Ironside, dialing up the drunken sleaze to a slow boil) is abusive towards her, and a alcoholic train wreck to boot. Her mother Maggie (Ellen Barkin in screeching cougar mode) is an unstable, clueless mess. Situations like that almost always end badly, which is an understatement here. One night when Fred gets too friendly with Roseanne, she snaps, something comes over her and Maggie and they both brutally murder him in an extended, grisly sequence that would give Oliver Stone bad dreams. From there on in its a dark and trashy morality play involving deception, false incarceration and manipulation on all the everyone's part. The film seems to revel in the excessive bad behaviour of it's characters, a decision which can be polarizing for audiences. It's ugly, sleazy stuff, but it does that very well, with all the actors taking full advantage of the mean spirited script, especially Ironside and Barkin. Just don't expect any pathos or straight arrow characters, this is a sociopath's game, through and through.

I knew nothing about this film before I saw it, so I was hoping it would be some undiscovered classic. Quite soon, however, I realised that it was pretentious nonsense. It had the air of being made by some studio in order to appeal to teenagers who write rubbish goth poetry in their bedrooms. It makes awful, contrived attempts to be "arty", while forgetting to add any actual meaning. The characterisation is almost non-existent, people don't seem to have any justifications for their actions, and while they may occasionaly give reasons verbally the acting is so poor that the motivation just isn't there. The dialogue, especially in the voice overs, is terrible and amateurishly written. The pace is painfully slow, since I hadn't read a synopsis of the film (and I'm not familiar with the source material, and the same probably goes for the target audience, which shows how misjudged the film is) I spent a long time wondering when this film would get to its point and indeed where it was going. There is no need for it to be so slow, and there is also no point in dividing it up into sections other than to have "cool" titles like "Damaged little f***ers" flashing up on the screen. Dividing it up into sections only serves to highlight the lack of structure and the inconsistency of the plot. The film is narrated from the point of view of a character who only appears sporadically throughout the film, and the film ends by concluding a plot line that is not very prominent except at the very beggining, so is quite pointless, yet acts like it is some kind of high art.

I realise this review probably reads like a jumbled mess but then so does this film. Life is too short for garbage like this.

Watching this movie, I thought "Gosh, a parody of American Beauty, terrific!". But, in the long run, I realized I was watching a strange, disturbing, involving movie. A movie about self-punishment, violence, beauty, love, crime... all mixed up, just in our life. Michael Ironside is a glorious b-movie star: it was the first time I saw him playing in such a character, obscene and suffered at the same time. A movie about how to get a new life, passing through tears and blood. A religious movie, worthy of Martin Scorsese or Sam Mendes (I wish Mendes could equal Scorse

Well, you can't say this movie doesn't have high intentions! The humanistic and spiritualistic values that manifest themselves when all is said and done will either seem satisfyingly coy or blatantly ridiculous, coupled as it is with a sleazy melodrama about infidelity and patricide. There are some things to admire here: good performances and nicely staged blows at the ridiculous ritual of high-school football; but there're also a lot of generally annoying contrivances and spiritual rhetoric. Mean-spirited and nasty enough to be interesting, but with too much TV-style sincerity to be endearing.

Some films that rely on cliches and one dimensional characters are amusing for this reason because the filmmakers are aware of the fact that there is not much depth to these characters and don't take them too seriously. This is not the case with Crime and Punishment in Suburbia, which not only relies on cliches and one dimensional characters, but can't seem to manage to find a way to bring the viewer into the story or even tell a story.

There is the voyeuristic pariah who is misunderstood, a character who it seems as though the film is trying to build a mystique around, but he never does anything all that interesting or noteworthy. He just goes around taking photographs of people without their knowing it, and the entire time it is very reminiscent of the kid who filmed everything in American Beauty, which had been released just one year prior to this. They've got the alcoholic father, who you know is going to be trouble, and sure enough, he is. There is the jock tough guy who is dating the the drunks' daughter, and bullies around the voyeuristic pariah as we've seen a billion times before. However, the jock tough guy ends up being a bit more of a dynamic character once the plot finally enters the film (about an hour into it), and it's a hackneyed plot. The drunks' daughter is a very bland character that does nothing interesting, yet we are forced to spend most of the film with her. It's brutally boring. I don't feel as though it is worth spending any more time describing this film, for it is poorly written, horribly acted, weak in concept, and should not be named after the Dostoyevsky novel that it is loosely based on, not because it deviates so much from the book but because rubbish like this should not be associated with a work of genius like "Crime and Punishment." 1/10

> This (very) loose rendition of Dostoyevsky's novel is at least smart enough not to forget the basic moral dimensions of the book - but they are present only basically. Dostoevsky's complex, nightmarish theological wrestlings are more or less summed up as `So, like, you believe in Jesus, like.' I start with my main beef because the film is strong, weak, confused, and intriguing. It continues the genre initiated by Freeway and continued by Cruel Intentions (contemporary teen drama based in/contrasted with classical literature and myth), but moves beyond them. The narrator is an authentically whacko seer, Vincent (Vincent Kartheiser), part angel, part demon, a living example of Dostoyevsky's most painful but genuine thesis that genuine morality comes from those who have sinned, people who understand the breadth of human capacities for good and evil. The `Raskolnikov' figure is not an arrogant genius but teenage girl Roseanne, whose life at the start is fairly normal, mixing equal parts anxiety at home (parents hate each-other) and working for popularity at school (she's a cheerleader who dates football player Jimmy), embarking on an unconcerned hedonism condoned by modern suburban existence. Her stepfather (Michael Ironside) is either a stroke or a psychotic fit waiting happen, stewing in deep frustration as his wife (Ellen Barkin) withdraws from him into an affair with cool, romantic barkeeper Eric (Jeffrey Wright, in an oddly small role), resulting in Ironside assaulting the couple in the local yogurt barn. As home life disintegrates, Roseanne's social position is rocked. Earlier seen trying to anchor the seething emotions of her parents, Rosanne is left in the middle of an escalating marital war with her social embarrassment acute. Things spiral into the lower depths when a drunken Ironside rapes Roseanne, precipitating her breakdown at school and then her planning with Jimmy to murder her stepfather.

Obviously Roseanne isn't really an equivalent of Raskolnikov; if you can say she exists in a Godless fashion it's just in the generally unacknowledged manner of modern life and not because of a conscious intellectual challenge, and her murder is fuelled by personal, even justifiable animus; this situation is taken from the sort of occasional psychotic excesses of suburban life we hear about on the news now and then, or see for ourselves. Fair enough; Dostoyevksy and other 19th century writers liked basing their stories upon real crimes and incidents that would be both authentic starting points and also accorded to themes that the writers were interested in.

So although the movie more or less skips around updating Raskolnikov as a character, it does lead into the novel's development. Vincent takes the place of Raskolnikov's prostitute lover as the informing presence of redemption. Although introduced tattooing the apparently nihilistic emblem `Por Nada' on his arm, Vincent actually has a weird form of Christianity that balances his overt perversity (he likes following and photographing Roseanne at all hours), and becomes, as he predicted, a figure to lean on for Roseanne; she is despite herself steadily drawn towards his lurking, warped philosophical self. As Barkin has been arrested and put on trial for Ironside's murder, Roseanne is faced with either confessing or letting her mother go to prison or possibly be executed. Anyone who knows how the book goes knows where it is going (for those who don't, don't read on), as Vincent, who has photographed Roseanne committing the murder, refuses to hand her in, instead subtly encouraging her to confess. She eventually does so, suffering a period of imprisonment where she takes over the narration, glad she isn't noticed anymore. Vincent is the only person who comes to visit her and eventually when she is released, and they ride off together on his motorcycle, evoking for me Allen Ginsberg's `Angleheaded Hipsters'.

The problem the film encounters is in updating Dostoyevksy's moral dilemmas. The story makes the incidents too personal; it's very much easier for Roseanne's gnawing guilt to be inspired by her mother's imprisonment as opposed to the poor unfortunate Raskolnikov's killing is blamed on, just as her murder is less problematic. Also, Vincent's Christianity isn't as strongly affiliated with a love of humanity as Dostoyevsky's, although it is implied that Vincent's way can accept people no matter how damaged because they are all born of the same imperfection. These things said, the film is always edgy, tough, and entertaining, particularly stylish in the pep rally filmed to resemble a form of black mass.

Awkward teen Vincent (Vincent Kartheiser) is obsessed with popular student Roseanne Skolnick (Monica Keena). He's a loner who is constantly photographing everybody. Her family is secretly dysfunctional. Her stepdad Fred (Michael Ironside) is a drunk and her mom Maggie (Ellen Barkin) is having a fling with bartender Chris (Jeffrey Wright).

This is a Sundance indie. I like some of the darker elements but the attempts at cool lighter feel does disrupt. I would make Vincent a much bigger participant in the story. I would think the football jock boyfriend should abandon Roseanne which would force her to seek help from Vincent. That would fit better and feel better. The court trial is not that compelling. Quite frankly, the great adult actors are under-used. I love many of these actors. This could have been better.

Crime and Punishment is the story of a popular girl with a popular boyfriend but with a not so good home life. Her mother and her stepfather are not getting along. Oddly, when her mother has an affair, she leaves her teenage daughter with the stepfather. In a drunken state, the stepfather abuses the girl sexually. The end result is murder when the teenage girl and her boyfriend kill the stepfather. The girl's mother shows up at the house after the murder and is arrested for the crime.

Crime and Punishment just doesn't quite succeed as a good film. In places it is too slick and emotionless. In other spots, the motivation of the characters does not quite jibe with their behavior. All in all, it's like eating a tasteless, textureless meal. In other words, it's unsatisfying and disappointing. I'd rate it 72/100. Avoid it.

As I have not read anything by Dostoyevsky (I know, I know, I'm behind the curve on my literature), I can't really make comparisons between his work and this alleged adaptation. With little fear of contradiction, however, I will say that "Crime + Punishment in Suburbia" takes an electric carver to a well-respected novel. Produced during the decline in interest of the fresh-faced teenage slasher ("Scream")/comedy ("Not Another Teen Movie")/drama ('Dawson's Creek') triptych, "Crime" attempts a modern facelift of a classic work, failing every miserable step of the way. Roseanne (Monica Keena) is a popular high-school girl dating a standard-issue jock (Chris Klein doppleganger James DeBello), hounded by a lanky outcast (Vincent Kartheisher), and victim of a cheating stepmother (Ellen Barkin) and an alcoholic, sexually abusive father (Michael Ironside); when Roseanne hatches a plot to murder her father, she is put in a position where she is forced to make an adult decision about her actions. Too bad screenwriter Larry Gross and director Rob Schmidt ("Wrong Turn") gloss up the proceedings with obnoxious music-video flourishes that only reminds us that the vapid dialog and generic characterization is being pitched directly at the ADHD denizens of MTV who would rather "watch the movie" than "read the book." Trotting out ersatz-meaningful monologues on love, fate, and guilt like they're the stuff of revelation, the condescension was enough to curdle my blood (especially when not ONE of the C-List actors present can convey a character that isn't flat as cardboard). "Crime" fails at being ironic, and is even worse at being dramatic--it quickly devolves into a joyless parody whose pseudo-intellectual stuffiness prevents it from even eliciting inappropriate laughter. The "Crime" is the film itself, and the "Punishment" is inflicted on whoever dares watch.