Crime and Punishment (1998)

Sorry, this movie sucks

Just what I expected

best movie i've ever seen.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Rodya (Patrick Dempsey) is an impoverished student in St. Petersburg, Russia. Although brilliant, he must suspend his schooling for lack of funds. His sister, Dounia, is a governess for a rich family in the country. Unfortunately, she is lovely and the husband and father of the situation takes a shine to her. Things get complicated when Rodya's mother arranges for Dounia to marry of a man of some means but no other good qualities, simply for sake of giving money to Rodya for his schooling. Desperate, Rodya remembers the old pawn broker in town, a disgusting woman with a large amount of funds. How can he even think of murdering and robbing her to save his sister from unhappy circumstances? This movie is a fine attempt at filming a classic story and making it accessible to the average person. The Russian names are always complicated and the circumstances of the society at the time a bit complex, too. Nevertheless, this presents the story with clarity, making the viewer more aware of what drives Rodya to commit a crime, by understanding the complete situation. The scenes of delusional guilt that plague Rodya are very fine, indeed. All of the principal players, Dempsey, Kingsley, and the lovely Delphy, are quite wonderful. If you've always wanted to know the story but your attempts at reading the novel have failed, this film is a good place to start. Who knows? After seeing this movie, perhaps you will try read the book again. But, in any case, you will have gained a rich experience and food for thought by sitting down to watch this superb story on video.

The key parts of Dostoyevsky's novel are either missing, or are so badly twisted, that I found myself laughing hysterically throughout this movie. There were a couple of good casting choices, and some good sets, but otherwise, it is a complete wash. This movie completely misses the points of Dostoyevsky, but it isn't too clear on it's Russian setting either. The poor cast is made to deliver the English dialog with bad Russian accents. The movie opens with Raskolnikov trying to assassinate Tsar Nicholas II and Tsaritsa Alexandra as they are leaving a church! (only 60 years too soon and completely destroys the subsequent plot assumptions). Key scenes such as Sonia's Father's speech to Raskolnikov (in which is contained the main theme of the work) are gone. What is meant to be a scene in which Raskolnikov and Sonia experience profound repentance, grace and forgiveness during the reading of the gospel story of Lazarus, is twisted: Sonia reads one sentence of the Gospel (tossing aside the theme), and then it turns into a big kiss moment instead. Avoid this one like the plague!

Between the bad accents, the horrible directing, and the predominantly bad acting, it couldn't be any worse. Even poor Richard Bremmer didn't look good trying to act while using that rotten Russian accent. Skip this one.

This TV movie is an excellent adaptation of the classic novel by Dostoyevsky. This is the story of Rodya Raskalnikov (Patrick Dempsey), an intellectual who is suspended from University and is living in poverty in 19th century Russia. Raskalnikov believes that in order for great men like Napoleon to accomplish great things, they must be above the law. With this as a psychological backdrop, he gets the news that his sister has been discharged from her governess position and she is considering marrying a rich man she doesn't love to keep the family from starving. He reasons that he, being a great man, must take action to prevent this travesty. So he decides he should kill his pawnbroker, a despicable woman who preys on the misfortune of others, and take her money to save his sister from prostituting herself in this terrible marriage. He reasons that the pawn broker deserves to die anyway, and that his sister's future is far more important. The remainder of the story is a study in the torment and guilt he feels, and from which he cannot escape intellectually.The film remains true to the novel, which is one of the classics of Russian literature. It is well directed, filmed in Poland to give it an authentic eastern European look. Joseph Sargent does an excellent job of capturing the rank poverty of the time in contrast to the opulence of the privileged.This is Patrick Dempsey's shining moment, by far the best I've ever seen him. He does a terrific job of capturing the overwrought Rodya's agony and emotional distraction. Although Dempsey was sometimes overly manic in his portrayal, this is one of the most complex characters in literature and it is impossible to imagine anyone getting him just the way Dostoyevsky wrote him. Dempsey has come a long way since the Woo Woo Kid (`In The Mood', 1987).Ben Kingsley was also terrific as the wily police chief who suspects Rodya of the crime, but with no evidence, cleverly manipulates his psyche to make the guilt unbearable.I rated this film a 9/10. It is no substitute for reading the novel, but in comparison to most of what is on the market, this is a gem. Most refined viewers will not regret renting this film.