Info
The opinions, comments and viewpoints expressed in articles are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the webmaster.
All press articles are still under copyright from the original source and provided for entertainment purposes and research only. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for your own purposes beyond the 'fair use' exception, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
|
By Katherine Monk, Canwest News Service, published on August 22, 2008 Ellen Page, Catherine Keener and director Tommy O'Haver look like they've just buried the family dog. Sitting around a table, heads bent over in silence, they are the embodiment of the tortured artist who's thrown himself on the cross of creative integrity. Which is exactly what O'Haver did when he took on the true story of Gertrude Baniszewski (Keener) and Sylvia Likens (Page) and turned it into a full-blown indictment of the idyllic heartland in An American Crime. A feature film that had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival two years ago, it was considered too controversial for theatrical release, but this week it makes its long-awaited debut on DVD. In 1965, a young girl was murdered at the hands of a seemingly harmless mother and her seven children. Sylvia Likens was tortured for weeks in the basement of Baniszewski's home, and though every neighbour in small-town Indianapolis heard the screams, no one helped. Crafted from court transcripts and personal testimony, An American Crime recreates the last few months of Likens's short life with such brutal intensity, many who watched the premiere were nauseated by the violence and had to leave. Understandable, but they missed incredible performances from the ensemble and O'Haver's steady determination behind the camera. "If this shoot had gone any longer, I would have gone mad," says O'Haver (Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss and Ella Enchanted). He looks at his two female stars with palpable pride. "I have to say, Ellen Page was as committed as you can be to a single project and Catherine - who is as warm a person as you can imagine - gave herself over to Gertrude. It was incredible to see her change from her role as Harper Lee in Capote, which was such a beautiful and delicate dramatic performance, to her presence as Gertrude. She could have played her as such a monster, but she finds a way to make her human," he says. Page looks over to Keener and in a barely audible voice says: "We really bonded. We had no egos on set and we leaned on each other to get through it. At times, I think it was almost harder on Catherine than it was on me. There were times when I felt like a real jerk," says Page. "It's stressful," says Keener, "and it's all-consuming and it affects you." Page - nominated for an Oscar for her role as a pregnant teen in last year's Juno - says she needed a few months after shooting to swim and hang with her dog, and is still haunted by the role: "I did a lot of research on psychological torture and the stories stick with you. "There are a lot of victims out there, and a lot of them never have a chance to be heard. I felt I had to make this movie for Sylvia Likens and the other victims of abuse out there whose stories are never told. Things never change if people ignore the truth, and I think as horrifying as this movie is, it's the truth. And that really is scary." Rating: 3 1/2 Source: Montreal Gazette |
Printerfriendly version · Read 445 times
Powered by Silver News 2.0.4
Last Update: 09/02/2010
© 2006-2010 Dominik Keppner
© 2006-2010 Dominik Keppner
