An American Crime (2007)
3.7 of 5 from 47 ratings
1h 38min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Sixteen-year-old Sylvia Likens (Ellen Page) and her 15-year-old sister, Jenny (Hayley McFarland), have, in the past, travelled with their parents who work on the carnival circuit. She and Jenny now live with their mother, Betty Likens (Romy Rosemont), who recently separated from their father, Lester Likens (Nick Searcy). Betty reconciles with him, and they decide to go on tour together. They agree to leave their daughters in the care of a single mother named Gertrude Baniszewski (Catherine Keener), whose daughters the Likens girls met in church. In dire financial straits, Gertrude offers to care for their daughters for twenty dollars a week, and as their parents leave, the girls settle in with Baniszewski's six children: Paula (17), Stephanie (16), Johnny (13), Marie (12), Shirley (10), and infant son Kenny. Sylvia befriends Paula (Ari Graynor), who confesses to Sylvia that she is pregnant by her married boyfriend - Sylvia swears not to tell. Soon after the girls' arrival, Gertrude is upset that Lester's weekly payment is late and punishes the girls by whipping them with a belt. The payment, along with a letter from the parents, arrives shortly thereafter, but Gertrude throws the letter in the trash and says nothing to the Likens girls... - Actors:
- Ellen Page, Hayley McFarland, Nick Searcy, Romy Rosemont, Catherine Keener, Ari Graynor, Scout Taylor-Compton, Tristan Jarred, Hannah Leigh, Bradley Whitford, Michael O'Keefe, Carlie Westerman, Michelle Benes, Patricia Place, Calvin Keet
- Directors:
- Tommy O'Haver
- Writers:
- Tommy O'Haver, Irene Turner
- Aka:
- The Basement
- Genres:
- Drama
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