i must have seen a different film!!

Excellent but underrated film

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Two performances stop this adaptation from being worse than it turned out to be. Julie Delpy, despite being perhaps a touch too beautiful, is dignified and moving as Sonia, while giving the character a strong will too, the writing of her character and subplot works against her but Delpy gives it her all. Even better is Ben Kingsley, no matter the state of the material Kingsley always gave his best and he more than does so here, bringing a thoughtful intensity to Porfiry.Delpy and Kingsley aside, this adaptation of Crime and Punishment doesn't work at all, as an adaptation or as a film as a standalone. Dostoevsky is not easy to adapt, in fact his work is quite difficult to do so, but that isn't an excuse for the story and characterisation being so lacking. The script is of a poor quality, with flat soap-opera-ish dialogue, delivery that was a mix of melodramatic and awkward and little attempt to keep to the tone or spirit of Dostoevsky's writing (only about 3 or 4 bits I properly recognised) or the style and themes that made his work distinctive. The characters no longer have their complexity, but not only are they written in a one-dimensional way but they are also grossly distorted; Raskolnikov is reduced from someone anguished by guilt to someone on the verge of a psychotic breakdown and secondary characters like Louzhin reduced to stereotypes. As a result, we never get to know these characters or why they do what they do, therefore the film fails to elicit any sympathy or even care for them.Admittedly, the story was disadvantaged to begin with by a too short length and an apparent heavy-cutting, and it shows quite badly here, it feeling incredibly rushed and choppy. It's completely devoid of suspense and psychological tension (even in the scenes between Raskolnikov and Porfiry, something and components that were done brilliantly in the two 1935 film adaptations), characters have very little- almost aimless- chemistry between them and the romantic subplot not only doesn't engage due to sloppy writing and lacking chemistry between Delpy and Patrick Dempsey but it slows the film down. Condensing and omissions were always going to be inevitable (the two 1935 film adaptations did too but not as badly), but the spirit and substance that makes the story so good are totally absent here, basic scenes are still intact but with none of the impact they ought but other key scenes are either greatly condensed or excised, to the extent that it did not feel like Dostoevsky. And to add further insult to injury, the adaptation even adds parts that have absolutely nothing to do with the story, including an opening sequence that was irrelevant, anachronistic and immediately distorted Raskolnikov's character.Patrick Dempsey tries his best as Raskolnikov, but his performance is filled to the brim with erratic, painfully overwrought melodrama that it's almost uncomfortable to watch him, failing to properly bring out the character's conflicts. Richard Bremmer is just okay, but would have been better if the character was better and fully realised. Hungarian actors aside, the accents are laid on too thickly and didn't seem all that necessary. Crime and Punishment's flatly directed and the music has some pleasant parts but is generally forgettable generic TV-quality and not always very subtly used, not adding as much to the atmosphere as it could have done. Production values-wise, the costumes and sets are decent, though don't ever really convince as 19th century Russia, but the photography is too glossy and too modern, the film was made for TV and especially in the photography it looks it.Overall, very bad and hugely disappointing, a definite contender for the worst adaptation of a Dostoevsky novel ever. 2/10 Bethany Cox

A crime causes much grief and guilt for the young idealist Rodya Raskonlnikov (Dempsey) who cannot come around to confess his offense.Beginning with the positives, Crime and Punishment has a fairly powerful cast with the exception of Patrick Dempsey. Julie Delpy plays an excellent Sonia, and Ben Kingsley could not have done a better Porfiry. The cast were great for their parts, unfortunately the actual movie wasn't too great in terms of quality film-making.Without knowing any prior history to the movie (or the book for that matter), one can easily see that this was made for TV. The cheesy "spacing out" effects only used in TV are an abundance in Crime and Punishment. It is most noticeable in Rodya's moments of despair and depression. The overall impression of this version of Crime and Punishment is much more different than what I saw in my mind while reading the book. The words in the novel are dark, gritty, and full of heart. The movie is very simple and it's almost always in broad daylight! If anything, all scenes should be shot in nighttime 99% of the time since darkness relatively symbolizes desperation and grim moments. Patrick Dempsey, as much of a sweetheart as he is, is NOT Rodya Raskolnikov. Rodya is a rough man, not a pansy. This was a complete casting error that ruined his character's complexity entirely. For what it's worth, Crime and Punishment makes for a decent straight-to-television movie. If one is looking for justice to the book, let your imagination run wild. After all, an imagination is a much more powerful tool than a cheesy television film. Too much was changed in the transition from the book to the little screen. That was the crime. Watching this as a faithful Dostoyevski fan was the punishment.

Crime and Punishment is one of the greatest books ever written but is not the easiest book to put on screen.Dostoyevsky`s genius is in his capacity to go deep into his characters minds and thoroughly describe their emotions.Patrick does a great job in this movie and so does Sir Ben(but he`s always brilliant)but the movie doesn`t even come close to the excellence of the book.In Dostoyevsky`s books the plot is not that important,for him the characters are more important.He puts them in different situations just to see how they react,for him the world inside his characters is more interesting than the world outside of them so it`s very difficult(if not impossible) to You should see the movie but don`t judge the book by it. make a good movie based on one of his books.

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.