reprinted from

'Crime and Punishment in Suburbia'  
Dir. Rob Schmidt
 Review by s.macgregor

Originally entitled ‘Crime and Punishment in High School’ until the United Artists baulked after the Columbine massacre and the makers of the film, director Rob Schmidt and producers Christine Vachon, Larry Gross and Pam Koffler were pushed into changing the title - ironically maybe the change opens the themes of the film out more; the angst of main characters high school students Rosanne and Vincent revolves as much around working through their precarious existence within the façade of suburbia as their enforced positions in the high school pecking order.

Coming hot on the heels of ‘American Beauty’ comparisons are inevitable yet script writer Larry Gross had penned the story ten years before the film’s release. Whereas ‘American Beauty’ was ultimately sentimental, ‘Crime & Punishment in Suburbia’ rips the top off the American Dream to reveal characters who are a lot more complex.

Snap shot back in time; seeing the title of the film reminded me of my own introduction to Dostoyevski's novel when placed (yet again) in detention for some minor misdemeanor at school I took revenge by stealing a nice looking old book from the school library. It appealed to me that the title of the book was ‘Crime and Punishment’ by a geezer with a Russian sounding name. That was my teenage intro to Dostoyevski and his complex world of angst, violence and transcendence which is grippingly updated and transformed for the screen through Larry Gross’s script and Rob Schmidt’s direction.

This take on the story reveals the frights of passage of high school babe Rosanne, (Monica Keena) who is cursed with an embittered mum, (Ellen Barkin) a step dad with a drink problem, (Michael Ironside) and Jimmy (James DeBello) a jock of a boyfriend who’s none too smart. Rosanne cautiously navigates her way around the tense atmosphere at home finding consolation in the passenger seat of Jimmy’s motor. High school loner Vincent, played with intriguing intensity by Vincent Kartheiser, is the only one who understands her troubles but as popular Rosanne could never consider dating an outsider, Vincent is reduced to following her around at a distance and taking photographs. The film unfolds as if told through Vincent’s photo album of Rosanne’s life, cleverly capturing the air of constant menace that she must deal with - intensifying as her life lurches into a downward spiral after mum ditches the shackles of unhappy marriage to run off with sympathetic boyfriend Chris (Jeffrey Wright).

The uneasy relationships between the characters in the film are charged with an erotic intensity which constantly threatens to erupt and does after Rosanne’s step dad rapes her in a bout of drunken self pity. Monica Keena is particularly convincing in the scenes that follow the attack; silently trudging the school corridors, her eyes blackened with eyeliner or slipping unobserved out of the family home, head bowed with worries yet wearing her pink framed heart shaped sunglasses. Can the story get any darker? It certainly can as Rosanne plans her revenge against step father Fred, gruesomely carried out against the backdrop of high school celebrations and chanting cheer leaders in a kaleidoscope of scenes that are gripping conceived and carried off with great visual flare.

The traditions of the US high school experience which are
alien to a British audience, yet familiar to us through
American movies are treated particularly effectively in this film as Rob Schmidt the director explained in an
interview with Jonathan Demme:

“This movie was the first time I got to work with sound a lot and I discovered all these things I never realized you could do with surround sound and rumble tracks to make the audience feel the character's emotions. For example, there is a pep rally scene in the movie and we wanted to create a very frightening place out of the familiar, create a world where harm could be done to the viewer, so we under-laid elements from the Nuremberg Rally, even a track of Hitler.”

Cinematographer Bobby Bukowski makes great use of
hand held camera work, particularly in the murder scene where Rosanne and boyfriend Jimmy dispatch Fred with a horrific struggle, shattering the illusion of the
‘easy’ celluloid killings that cinema audiences have become so accustomed to. Against advice from the studio to film on sets, the director opted for filming on locations which pays off adding to the strong individual style of the piece. Rosanne’s suburban home, a detached gothic style house has a character of it’s own, a gilded palace where the occupants are all captives.

Another of the film’s strength’s is the way the director manages to get under the skin of his characters; we can empathize with them all, even Michael Ironside’s rejected and twisted step dad. The ‘love at first sight’ scene between Chris and Maggie (Rosanne’s mum) is great, moving as well as ominous. Maggie is probably the hardest character to sympathize with, leaving her young daughter behind in such a volatile environment it’s not surprising that Rosanne seems prepared to let her mother take the rap for her father’s murder. There’s also an interesting sub plot hinted at between Vincent and his emotionally dependent single mum; Vincent reveals to Rosanne that his father was killed by police New York, leading to them uprooting and moving to suburbia in California. The weight of emotional burden that the young protagonists carry from their distraught parents is gradually eased through Rosanne and Vincent’s growing friendship.

Like her male counterpart in the original novel, Rosanne eventually faces up to her crime – confesses - and is helped through the inevitable punishment, imprisonment, by the Vincent’s support.

With well rounded characters, a convincing foray into alienation and the pains of love underpinned by dark humour
Crime and Punishment in Suburbia grippingly unravels teen angst US style, accompanied by a throbbing contemporary sound track.

Monica Keena - Roseanne Skolnik
Ellen Barkin - Maggie Skolnik
Michael Ironside - Fred Skolnik
Vincent Kartheiser - Vincent
James DeBello - Jimmy

Director - Rob Schmidt
Writer - Larry Gross
Producers - Larry Gross, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon
Music - Michael Brook
Cinematographer - Bobby Bukowski
Editor - Gabriel Wrye