Well, once I was in, I was in. I was looking for “dark” stories. What interests me more is artistic mysticism, obviously fictional. But I ended up on this film and…
You know those films – horrible, terrifying ones, like The Changeling – that are so hard to watch, but you can’t stop because you’re still hoping it might end well. Maybe Batman will come and save everyone. Meanwhile, you’re curled up in a corner of your chair, clutching a blanket drenched in tears, scared – just like the kids in those nightmares.
An American Crime is just like that. Through the whole film, you want to believe in the best, your mind can’t accept that such evil won’t be punished… Then the director gives you a delicious candy – just to feel the taste of freedom and relief – and then, like a piece of meat on a string from a dog’s stomach, just when you think it’s all okay, it cruelly yanks that candy from your mouth.
Batman didn’t come. American police showed up and convicted everyone. But that’s what crime is – it’s already happened. A terrifying and horrible film. If I’d known what it was about, I never would have watched it. But the worst part was still ahead. It turned out that it was not just based on real events. No, this is not Stephen King, who can turn a simple and almost dry Escape from Alcatraz into The Shawshank Redemption… My friend Wikipedia tells me that this film is literally based on the court documents of a murder investigation. So, as close to the truth as it could possibly be.
Shocking.
P.S. This is for balance, madam, so you won’t be too happy. Remember, life is ambiguous.
P.P.S. Though, no, I recommend it to anyone who thinks they’re a masochist. You’ll instantly change your mind.