This is a contemporary fable loosely based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment. Roseanne (Monica Keena) is outwardly a perfect and popular teen, who suffers from a dysfunctional home life. Her mother (Ellen Barkin) begins an affair with a local man (Jeffrey Wright) and leaves her to live alone with her alcoholic stepfather (Michael Ironside). One night during an alcohol-fueled rage, Roseanne is raped by him. Traumatized, she decides to take things into her own hands. With the participation of her devoted and clueless boyfriend Jimmy (James DeBello) the twosome murder her stepfather in retribution, but Roseanne’s conscience quickly begins to unravel afterwards.
The story is narrated by one of Monica’s fellow classmates, Vincent (Vincent Kartheiser), a boy who is as concerned with Roseanne’s well-being as he is obsessed with her. As the plot develops he forges a relationship with her, consoling her and giving her advice while trying to point her toward redemption. In the end it becomes possible that he, perhaps, might be her only salvation.
The film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize, Dramatic at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. ––Wikipedia
Rob Schmidt (born September 25, 1965) is an American film director and writer. His film credits include Wrong Turn and Crime and Punishment in Suburbia. He also created a pilot called American Town for Twentieth Century Fox. He directed a Masters of Horror episode called “Right to Die.” His thriller The Alphabet Killer, which reunited him with Eliza Dushku (Wrong Turn), Martin Donovan (“Right to Die”), and Michael Ironside (Crime and Punishment in Suburbia), has been picked up for international distribution by New Films International. He is married to photographer Zoë Barracano. —Wikipedia
