Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

An American Crime is one of the most disturbing movies I've seen. Disturbing because it's about a severe case of child abuse. Disturbing because so many people participated in the abuse. Disturbing because so many people knew it was going on, but looked the other way. And, mostly, disturbing because it's a true story.

This is the story of Sylvia Likens (Ellen Page), a sixteen year old girl, imprisoned and tortured by a disturbed woman who was supposed to be caring for her.

It was 1965 in Indiana. Left in the care of a neighbor while their parents worked the carnival circuit, sisters Jenny and Sylvia never suspected that their caretaker Gertrude Baniszewski (Catherine Keener) was a monster, who seemed to take perverse pleasure in taking out all of her frustrations on Sylvia. And there were many frustrations. Gert is a single mother, raising six of her own kids, with very little money. She suffers from asthma (and she chain-smokes) leaving her ill, and unable to take in much work. She agrees to care for Jenny and Sylvia in exchange for $20 a week. When the first check doesn't arrive in time, she takes her frustration out on Sylvia for the first time, and it simply never stops from that point on. When her own kids cause problems, Gert manages to turn the situations around to make them Sylvia's fault. Thus Sylvia becomes the scapegoat for all that goes wrong in this family.

What starts out as "punishment" blossoms into torture. Sylvia is locked in the basement, where she is burned with cigarettes, starved, punched, and "branded".

To make matters worse, the rest of the kids are taught that Sylvia's "punishment" will be good for her in the long run, and help make her a "righteous" person. Thus they are encouraged to partake in the torture. Some of them come to enjoy it, and bring their friends into the house to "have fun" as well. To say these scenes are disturbing is putting it mildly.

Then there are the neighbors who can't help but hear Sylvia's screams. But they feel it's best to leave matters alone. That part made me feel angry. It may have been a different time, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have simply looked the other way. How hard would it have been to call the police?

Despite the sad circumstances and the very disturbing scenes, this is a good movie. Ellen Page did an unbelievable job playing this tortured teenager. She narrates the story with a sweet voice that tugs at the heart. Catherine Keener is perfect in the role of Gert. Here is a woman whose public image is of a kind, religious woman raising a bunch of kids to her best ability. But when the curtains close, she transforms into a monster.

The entire story is told in flashback, as the story starts out with the trial. Thus you know from the beginning that Gert is eventually stopped and brought to trial. You are told that the court scenes are from the actual transcripts. And that makes it even more difficult to watch. Especially as the prosecutor (Bradley Whitford) asks the other children what happened, and why they participated. These were little kids calmly stating that they thought they were simply punishing her. The whole thing was just very sad to watch.

My only complaint about this movie is the inclusion of one scene, towards the end, that I felt should have been left out. It seemed to have been added in order to infuse a little bit of "Hollywood" into the story. With a story this tragic and sad, it's an injustice to try to "liven it up". To say more would spoil the movie, but trust me, you'll know which scene I'm talking about, when you watch it.

I hope everyone sees this movie, as Sylvia's sad story deserves to be told. My hope is that someone will see this movie and decide to stand up and say something, the next time they find themselves in a situation where they know something wrong is going on.


Recommended: Yes

Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age