American Crime

American Crime

I choose the film An American Crime because it shed light to the world, including articles such as in Time Magazine, of a true life family horror drama kept a secret for years about an Indiana household in the 1960’s. Based on a shocking true tale, director Tommy O’Haver centers on Indiana housewife Gertrude Banizewski who imprisons and tortures a 16-year-old girl in the basement. When Gertrude takes in a boarder Syliva Likens, she has no idea that her life will soon become a horrific nightmare. Not only did this movie catch my attention for this assignment but, it also it back up with a star studded case and received several precious award nominations. An American Crime is a 2007 crime-drama film based on the true story of the torture and murder of Sylvia Likens by Indianapolis housewife Gertrude Baniszewski. It premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival to controversy amongst the critics, most of whom, nonetheless, lauded the daring performances of Catherine Keener (who earned an Emmy and Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal) and, especially, Ellen Page Because of internal problems with the film's original distributor, First Look, the film was headed to the straight-to-DVD market, but Showtime stepped in and officially premiered the film on May 10, 2008. The film was recently nominated for a Writer's Guild Award (cited, Wikipedia.com)
Sylvia Likens was the third child of carnival workers Betty and Lester Likens. Her birth came between two sets of fraternal twins, Diana and Daniel (two years older), and Jenny and Benny (one year younger). The marriage of the Likens was unstable and the family moved many times. Likens was often boarded out or forced to live with relatives while her parents were working.

In 1965, Sylvia and her sister Jenny, who was disabled from polio, were living with their mother in Indianapolis when the elder woman was arrested and jailed for shoplifting. Lester Likens, who had recently separated from his wife, arranged for his...

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