Stevie (2003)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The acting in this movie is really good.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

this dirty guy should have got life he had or tried to have sex with an 8 year old girl and look at the way he acts no way should this idiot be let out on the streets so he can do something worse and then this girlfriend of his the worse says i don't want him to go to jail i love him don't you realize this guy done a sex crime on an 8 year old little girl you are a true moron you are as stupid as a box of rocks and so is that idiot girlfriend of yours you should be locked up for the rest of your life you are also a very ugly looking person and the inside of you is even worse you act stupid you look stupid and you are a filthy dirty sex offender on a little 8 year old girl i truly hope one day i read about a horrible death that became you because the world would be a better place without you in it

A film that holds a mirror up to society. One that says we are all interconnected. We can all play a part. We can all help. The film left me saddened. Sad for the victim. Sad for the perpetrator. Sad for the family. Sad for the partner. I did not feel sadness for the filmmaker. I felt he was not there for Stevie. If the references to him being 'big brother' were removed from the film I would not have realised they had any history together such was their negative body language together. Sometimes it made me squirm it was so awkward when they were in the same scenes together. I felt for Stevie. His circumstances were awful. He seemed destined to fall. At one point I felt a glimmer of hope but it was short-lived. There were some standout scenes. Where Stevie and his partner go to Chicago and visit her friend who was sexually abused as a child talking about the effect on her life of the assault. The scene where Stevie goes back to visit his foster parents reveals a different side of his personality that springs from somewhere deep inside him as though it had been locked away for years. The moment his mother hugs him after he goes into prison is something she should have done many years ago, perhaps when he was a young boy instead of hitting him in the face. What goes around comes around. I felt the filmmaker could have offered or at least been seen to offer more advice to Stevie. To try and have a more open conversation with him. Maybe he tried but he comes across badly in my mind. Overall the film makes me despair at the way we live our lives and the fragility of the human condition. It leaves me feeling there is no hope.

This is something in addition to what I have written already. This documentary is a living testament that there are certain people that cannot be helped, no matter what. This film makes you feel really angry at Stevie most times, but also you feel sorry for him, too. This is not at all to diminish any reality of the circumstances or issues discussed in the film.Nonetheless, this film made me feel something deep within, and very few films do that anymore. This film is also a living testament for what could happen if you abuse your children, although there are some abused children that in spite of all they have been through somehow manage to move on to do great things.

I don't think you can blame Steve James for a very honest and open portrayal of a sick and wasted life.The real culprit is obviously the mother, not Steve James. Documentaries are not supposed to opine or edit necessarily, but tell the facts. I think this movie does this in a very honest fashion. Don't feel sorry for Stevie. When he gets out he will offend again, it's just a matter of time. Thank God we have sex offender registry laws today that will track him and send him back to prison. It's a little too long, but still held my attention. Anyone who has seen Hoop Dreams knows that Steve James' movies are way too long anyway.