Imaginary Crimes (1994)

A recently widowed, small-time hustler struggles to raise his two teenage daughters on his own, and still make a dishonest living in 1950s Indiana.

Director:

Anthony Drazan

Writers:

Sheila Ballantyne (book), Kristine Johnson (screenplay)

Stars:

Harvey Keitel, Fairuza Balk, Kelly Lynch

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Harvey Keitel	...	Ray Weiler
Fairuza Balk	...	Sonya Weiler
Kelly Lynch	...	Valery Weiler
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Mr. Webster
Diane Baker	...	Abigail Tate
Chris Penn	...	Jarvis
Amber Benson	...	Margaret
Elisabeth Moss	...	Greta Weiler
Richard Venture	...	Judge Klein
Seymour Cassel	...	Eddie
Tori Paul	...	Young Sonya
Melissa Berntsen	...	Gigi Rucklehaus
Annette O'Toole	...	Ginny Rucklehaus
Bill Geisslinger	...	Bud Rucklehaus
William G. Schilling	...	Mr. Garrity

Storyline

Coming-of-age story set in the 1950's stars Harvey Keitel as a small-time hustler/dreamer, recently widowed, who tries his best to care for his two daughters, 17-year-old Sonya, and 12-year-old Greta, while Sonya's rapid disulisionment with her father puts her at odds with him more times than nessessary.

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Plot Keywords:

teacher student relationship | support | con artist | autobiographical | father daughter relationship | 

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Taglines:

When a father doesn't live up to his dreams... a daughter has to stand up for hers.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for theme and some very mild language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 October 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Crimes Imaginários

Filming Locations:

Portland, Oregon, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$89,611

Company Credits

Production Co:

Morgan Creek Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although they portrayed teenagers, Fairuza Balk (Sonya Weiler) was twenty-years-old (just one year older than teenage), and Elisabeth Moss (Greta Weiler) was twelve-years-old (just one year shy of teenage) in 1994.

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Quotes

[When Sonya's teacher encourages her to go to college]
Sonya Weiler: You don't know my father.
Mr. Webster: Well, in a way, I do.

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Connections

Featured in Beyond Clueless (2014)

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Soundtracks

Symphony No. 1 in F, Op. 10
Performed by Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Neeme Järvi, Conductor
Composed by Dmitri Shostakovich
Courtesy of Chandos Records Ltd.

User Reviews

Run-of-the-mill-drama?

I had low expectations when I decided to check this film out. Emotional dramas are normally not my kind of film. But it did not take very long before I was "tuned in". Keitel manages to make the character both disgusting and loving in a great way. Despite the pathetic cons he manages to show Ray's love and caring for his children. The film is also helped by overall tremendous acting, especially by the Sonja-character. The flashbacks are tastefully divided into small parts, which help the "suspense" to last during the whole film. In my opinion, Keitel's acting is almost as good as his part in BAD LIEUTENANT, which is absolutely stunning. It is actually a rather standard plot, not very far from DEATH OF A SALESMAN. But as mentioned before, good acting gives it a 'feelgood'...er...feel. 8/10