True Crime (1996)

the audience applauded

Excellent but underrated film

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

A teenage girl Mary Giordano (Alicia Silverstone) has been addicted to the investigation of unsolved crimes since her father, a cop, died in the line of duty. While her so-called friend (Tara Subkoff) is interested in regular guys, Mary spends her whole free time by studying biography of male serial killers and newspapers about the murders happening on the last Friday of every month. She lives in her own world of mysteries that is represented by her personal cabinet with newspaper clippings, photos and thoughts' journals inside (later she will keep there a rabbit foot, a gift from the serial killer). This is what fulfills her fatherless teenage life. Soon Mary meets Tony (Kevin Dillon) whom she suspects as a serial killer but who happens to be a cadet of a local police academy. Understanding that two heads are better than one, she asks him for help in solving the murders. He agrees, reluctantly though. During the investigation, Mary develops feelings for Tony. The idea of being together and solving the crimes as a team makes her feel happy, however after a while, she faces a harsh reality. To her horror, everything she believed in turns out to be wrong and the world she has built around herself starts crumbling.The opening of the movie makes it seem like a thriller and probably that is why, a lot of people expect more action and mystery and get disappointed as the movie ends. It is not hard to predict who the killer is going to be. True Crime is not a thriller. It is a crime drama with thriller elements about young gullible girl who comes to the understanding that life is not rainbows and unicorns. Slowly discovering how unpleasant the world can be, Mary still keeps her faith in people. What the movie makes interesting for me is how, throughout the movie, the director Pat Verducci shows two transitions that Mary undergoes simultaneously. She becomes a woman and matures. I was asking myself how the male director can make young female character so believable until I realized I was thinking, for some reason, of Pat Verducci as a man when it is actually a woman.Alicia Silverstone plays her part very well as a nerdy girl suffering from respective teenage complex. Her character is the total opposite of a seductive but psychotic girl from Crush or a rich high school student from Clueless which came out the same year True Crime did. Kevin Dillon, Matt Dillon's younger brother was impressive as Tony. The supporting cast includes Michael Bowen as a main suspect and Bill Nunn as the chief of police. What impresses me the most is the score. Slow, discreet and haunting, especially during the last scene and closing credits. It creates an unforgettable atmosphere for what I loved this movie when I saw it the first time on TV in 2003. It is actually one of my favorite movies. This is a low-budget, direct-to-video movie with predictable plot and some flaws. Hence you should not expect it to bring something new. True Crime (the only feature film Miss Verducci made) is not primarily about solving the murders. It concerns the development of aspiring female police officer's personality and the change of her outlook on life. Furthermore, it is about the understanding of the underworld through face-to-face interaction with a real serial killer. The invaluable life experience Mary obtains makes her stronger and now she can show others what she has learned from this journey through the heart.

I'm an Alicia Silverstone fan. She has that most memorable masterpiece that is CLUELESS to her credit. I didn't know about this title until searching for THE BABYSITTER on Amazon spewed this out as a related title that I might like.Unfortunately, I am quite disappointed. Movie is kinda lame in a dull way. There's not enough to make you feel something for the character. Nothing bright. Alicia needs a chirpy script. EXCESS BAGGAGE, though way inferior to CLUELESS, does a whole lot better.If we don't feel for the character, it is all to no avail. Movie seems like just an excuse to have a few gory scenes that, in any case, seem totally out of place in such a tepid little flick. Too much wallowing in referring to 'scattered body parts' reveals a sadistic bloodthirsty Freudian slip of the scriptwriter. The hanging corpse was another dud of a scene. I'm in such a bad mood after just watching this, that my review is just filled with negativity, so if it sucks, it's because the film was so bleak I'm still recovering.I absolutely know Alicia would have been up to portraying a much-more upbeat character had there been a better script. I've studied the 18 other reviews and why some of them are so positive about Pat Verducci I just can't fathom. Maybe he bribed them? Maybe he is their uncle? Maybe they stand to inherit? Maybe they want to be cast in his next (????) movie?No involvement, no magic, that's the cause of death, the true crime of TRUE CRIME. With hindsight, I'd have made this movie with Alicia cast as a fashion-conscious Nancy Drew with a weakness for some Questionable Type, but this Kevin Dillon, she'd have wrinkled her nose and said "As if...!" So sue me, Amy Heckerling!

I saw this made-for-video movie on TV once and was quite impressed with it. It stars Alicia Silverstone as Mary Giordano, a student who has an addiction to mystery novels and detective magazines. She uses her knowledge of detective work to intervene in a homicide case, and teams up with police cadet Tony Campbell (Kevin Dillon) to try to solve it.The chemistry between Mary and Tony were good and the movie has a good thrilling and exhilarating feel to it. For a made-for-video movie, the script made for an exciting plot and kept me engaged, especially when he came to the part when Mary finds herself becoming a victim of her own circumstances.While the plot may be predictable, it does go at a steady momentum and the acting throughout wasn't bad. Overall, this makes for a good movie to keep you entertained on a slow night.Grade B

The movie never becomes intolerable to watch. And to tell it straight, it has nothing to show either, except maybe part-sexy Alicia Silverstone in a nerdy non-sexy character in revealing quite-sexy dresses. The story is very easy to follow or there's nothing to follow -- you can see in either way. There is no suspense, little action, unimpressive dialogs, unsatisfactory sensuality, same boring locations and very bland acting. Kevin Dillon is totally worthless. Silverstone... well, I didn't concentrate too much on her acting, I confess. Yet as I said earlier, if one has nothing to do except watching a movie, this won't look so bad. 4/10