Product: Crime and Punishment (2000)
Rating: 5.0
A Sensitive Film
Crispin Glover gives a sensitive and profound performance as Rodio Raskolnikov. We see his unusual sensitivity and introspective personality -- a real intellectual -- within the context of a deep pride that, like Uriah Heap, tends to feign humility. He is portrayed as at once smug, pitiful, too smart for his own good, and yet marvelously sincere. He manages to appear good even though he is a hideous murderer. It is the reverse of Dorian Grey. In Raskolnikov's case, the more we travel with him trying to cope with his murders and avoid prosecution, the more we sense his goodness. Though he is a murderer, I could not find it in myself to dislike him or to judge him harshly. Rather, I sympathized with him and with his moral and personal psychological struggles. Mr. Glover thus pulled off his role to a T, and the rest of the supporting cast really gave me a sense that I was in Russia where everyone is trying hard, and often succeeding in keeping up appearances; yet human degradation keeps breaking through. Sonja the prostitute turns out to be the most loving and noble of all those in the story; and, in a way, her love for Raskolnikov brings out the best in her. His crime/failure has a redemptive effect upon her life. If you are patient, and ripe for a deeper type of film experience, this version of Crime and Punishment is for you.