First off to anyone that has, will or wants to see this film I would also suggest The Girl Next Door, which is based on the same story but takes liberties as this film does. It is very interesting to see the differences between the two interpretations of the same events. The other interesting thing is, in my opinion these movies are perfect if you put them together, everything one does wrong the other does right and visa versa. An American Crime was great in its more detailed set up to these events along with it's amazing court room scenes that added a much need closer element that The Girl Next Door was desperately lacking. On the other hand The girl Next Door was much better at visualizing the actual events, don't get me wrong what happened to this girl was horrible, but in An American Crime it was just not portrayed as well by Ellen Page. I know that sounds weird for me to say too, but I assume that it was either the directors choice or an attempt at realism, but Ellen Page's character just shut down. Were as in The Girl Next Door, we saw more of a fighter in Blythe Auffarth's portrayal of the same character, someone who was changed by the experience. Also The Girl Next Door did not shy away from the violence as An American Crime did, now for some I'm sure that is a blessing, because I have heard of several people who could not finish watching The Girl Next Door for that very reason, and because these situations all involved young kids it is completely understandable. My overall point is that together these two films would make a wonderful film, but definitely not a film for everyone. Both films still do leave me wondering, what exactly did happen, exactly, so many liberties have been taken that some of the facts are a little fuzzy.
Review of An American Crime
