Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
3/4
True Crime, Meaningful Film
Chris Kavan - wrote on 05/11/2008
Whereas Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door takes the same material and makes it brutal, even sickening, An American Crime sticks more towards the fact and is more subtle, though no less horrifying in the end.
It's tough watching Ellen Page, looking more fragile than ever, succumbing to harsher and harsher punishment, ultimately leading to outright torture, mostly at the hands of fellow neighborhood children. Catherine Keener can take her place amongst stone-cold villains as an unbalanced single mom - what starts out as being protective of her children descends into madness. It is all the much harder to watch knowing it is based on a real person.
The biggest fault I find with An American Crime is the switching from the court hearing and flashing back to the events. I realize the …
