An American Crime, With Ellen Page

The plot of the movie is based on real events in 1965, taking place in Indianapolis. The torture and eventual murder of Sylvia Likens is known as being one of the most infamous crimes in local history. Ellen Page plays Sylvia, and Catherine Keener plays Gertrude Baniszewski, the woman responsible for her death.

Baniszewski took Sylvia and her sister into her home that year, receiving twenty dollars per week from their parents in exchange for their care. The level of care for the seven children already there was low and the tension was high, as the oldest girl had been found pregnant. Baniszewski began to take her rage out on the Likens girls, and then on Sylvia in particular. The extent of the abuse and the sheer number of people involved is overwhelming: in the end, five people went to prison for this crime, including three children under the age of sixteen. Five more were originally brought to court, but charges were dropped.

Bold Choice for Ellen Page

She doesn’t seem to have stopped for a moment since her Juno glory. Since then, she has been seen in Tracey Fragments, Smart People, and Stone Angel. None of these were huge blockbusters, but that doesn’t seem to be her style. Of the three, Smart People was probably most popular, co-starring Dennis Quaid, Thomas Haden Church, and Sarah Jessica Parker.

American Crime, even compared to her earlier drama Hard Candy, is quite the bold choice. It is dark with sinister tones throughout, and her character is being physically and psychologically abused for at least half the movie. There is none of what people may think of as her trademark sarcasm here, no quirky banter, no lighthearted morals. She chose a heavy role, and she does well in it, remaining believable and having no trouble keeping up with longtime actress Catherine Keener.

Less Surprising, But Equally Impressive for Keener

With a filmography as long as your arm, Catherine Keener has been around this business since the eighties and this is not her first weighty film. She’s been seen in Being John Malchovich, Ballad of Jack and Rose, Capote, and many others that are counted more as social commentary than Friday night entertainment.

She manages to make the Baniszewski character sympathetic, which is no easy task. James Franco plays opposite her as the manipulative, abusive father of her youngest child, and seeing her as a victim of abuse goes a long way in understanding this woman. Keener is simultaneously cruel and pathetic, terrible and sad.

Sticks to the Story

Writer/director Tommy O’Haver does a nice job of sticking to the story as closely as possible, not making many allowances for the faint of heart, or aiming for the cheap seats. It is a difficult movie to watch and a story that needs to be heard. The full story, as reported in the Indianapolis newspaper the IndyStar, can be found here.

Print Article

Email Article

View All Articles

How to subscribe to feeds