Review of An American Crime (2007) by Cassie B — 13 Jan 2010

I am a big fan of Ellen Page and even more so now after seeing this movie and her portrayal of Sylvia Likens. I can't believe I missed it when it came out, but then again this film did not really get as much exposure as it deserves. Catherine Keener was incredible in her role as Gertrude. I was impressed. As it says above, this film is based on a true story of a murder that happened in 1965 in Indianapolis, USA. This movie is definitely not for people who are squeamish or can't handle gritty reality. There were parts in this movie where I had to look away for a moment, my heart sick with what was happening. With each new horrible event that happened I had to remind myself that yes, this did in fact happen to someone.

A lot of the movie script uses actual court transcripts which obviously makes it that much more realistic. I have to applaud both Catherine Keener and Ellen Page for taking on these roles as of course trying to portray these individuals in circumstances we can only dare to imagine, states of minds most of us can't possibly comprehend, must have been quite difficult. I think the scariest thing about this disgusting thing that happened is that it wasn't just Gertrude. It was her parents leaving her with strangers, Gertrude's children that did nothing to stop it, and the neighborhood children and families who joined in on the torturous behavior. This wasn't something done by one person. I can't even begin to imagine what it must have been like for Sylvia Likens in that dark basement, being beaten, burned, mutilated, starved and humiliated. There is a part near the end where the prosecutor (Bradley Whitford) asks Sylvia's sister, Jennie, if she ever cried. Jennie then says "I imagine the reason why she didn't cry was because she didn't have enough water".

I am sitting here as I write this feeling heart broken for a girl that died almost 45 years ago. Everyone knows that things like this really do happen in the world, but to look at them and really acknowledge them takes courage. It's easy to close our eyes and look away from the things that make us uncomfortable and test our strength, but I think it's wrong to turn away. I'm glad I saw this movie, because it made me do research on the events and has led me to other very startling but important occurrences in our history. Other innocent victims slain by psychotic animals. No matter what is going on in your life there is never EVER an excuse to mistreat another human being like that. It makes me very angry.

This movie was touching, scary, and very frustrating. I say frustrating because the entire time I kept waiting for someone to do something. Anyone to do anything to save this poor girl. I think the true message in this murder case and movie .... the REAL lesson is to speak out against injustice. Don't be a follower and sit back and watch and allow something like this to go on. The neighbors heard her screaming and did nothing, the kids showed her off like she was a freak show and took turns abusing her. They were following an evil leader and feeding off of one another. All it takes it one person to do the right thing and honestly in my opinion, the neighbors ignoring the screams and doing nothing was almost as terrible as what the others were actually doing. I was definitely moved by this movie and I only hope more people see and learn the story of the beautiful 16 year old girl, Sylvia Likens.