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published on Friday, June 20th, 2008 at 3:14 am Most cringe-inducing movie of the year? Check. Ellen Page stars as Sylvia Likens, the teenage daughter of two carnival workers in 1965 Indiana. Unable to take their kids along for the next carnival tour, Sylvia’s carny folks offer to pay a complete stranger to take Sylvia and her younger sister (Hayley McFarland) in as boarders until the parents can send for them. This stranger is Gertrude Baniszewski (Keener), a poor, religious, and desperate single mother of six. Gertrude can definitely use the money and figures that with six kids in the house, two more won’t be that noticeable. An American Crime is a true story, much of the plot taken from court transcripts. As good-girl Sylvia starts to get comfortable at Gertrude’s house, Gertrude’s oldest daughter (Ari Graynor) gets jealous and wants Sylvia punished. Thus begins one of the most horrific stories I’ve heard in a long time. While it’s not heavy on blood or graphic gore, Sylvia’s “punishments” are things that are beyond normal humanity. Gertrude locks Sylvia in the basement, beating her and burning her with cigarettes. She lets her kids beat her up too, and before long, Sylvia is the main attraction in the neighborhood. The kids in town start coming to the basement to torture Sylvia after school, all under the “supervision” of Mrs. Baniszewski. Knowing that all of this actually happened to a girl in real life, watching the film almost made me sick to my stomach. It’s hard to comprehend how cruel people can be, and An American Crime doesn’t make it any easier to understand. No, Gertrude doesn’t have a life of luxury, but there are no real answers as to why she would act so evil (besides the obvious fact that she’s fucking mental). It’s also disturbingly fascinating why the entire neighborhood turned away when they knew something wasn’t right. Whether it was a neighbor who heard Sylvia’s screams or the local kids who joined in on the torture, we all hope that we’d stand up and do the right thing, when in reality most people are probably too selfish. Ellen Page sheds all of her Juno smarm in a great performance, and Catherine Keener is also amazing as a woman we’re not meant to understand. James Franco and Bradley Whitford have supporting roles as Gertrude’s boyfriend and the district attorney, respectively. An American Crime was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007 and premiered on Showtime last month (on Mother’s Day, no less). The crime was also the basis for another 2007 film, The Girl Next Door (which is a more fictionalized account). You can read about a crime in the paper and realize how contemptible it is, but for some reason seeing it played out on screen makes it feel much more real. If I were a family member of Sylvia Likens, I would want the world to remember her and what she went through. An American Crime is by no means an entertaining movie; in fact it left me quite bothered. It’s not even a particularly well-made film. But it’s an important story to see- a true story that’s been obscure for too long. Source: knemonic.com |
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© 2006-2010 Dominik Keppner
© 2006-2010 Dominik Keppner
