A teen movie with both edge and substance, Rob Schmidt's high-school retelling of Dostoevsky's Crime And Punishment should resonate deeply with angst-ridden teens struggling with their adolescent demons. Adults also will enjoy its playful morbidity and admire the often-inspired panache of second-time film-maker Rob Schmidt.

Schmidt, who showed his confidence in the medium with first feature Saturn, is in absolute control of his material. Cleverly dividing the picture into pithily titled segments, he casts a cool, stylised eye on the story of a popular teenage girl driven to murder her abusive stepfather, who is then redeemed into remorse by the love of a friend.

Not to be taken too seriously - absorbing old-fashioned melodrama is at its core - Crime And Punishment In Suburbia divided audiences at the Sundance Film Festival, where it played in dramatic competition. Perhaps the biggest commercial concern for backers United Artists is that it doesn't fall into either the arthouse or mainstream camps, and could end up falling through the cracks in between.

The sexy young cast is definitely a marketing plus. Dawson's Creek alumnus Keena holds her own as the determined Rosanne Skolnik (Raskolnikov, geddit?), Kartheiser is creepy as her devoted pal Vincent, DeBello robust and appealing as her jock boyfriend. Leading the adults are an impressive Barkin as her long-suffering mother and Ironside, suitably repellent as her stepfather.