Evolution of a Criminal (2014)

Tens years after robbing a Bank of America, filmmaker Darius Monroe returns home to examine how his actions affected the lives of family, friends...and victims.

Director:

Darius Clark Monroe

Stars:

Dante E. Clark, Rosalyn Coleman, Ellie Foumbi

2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Dante E. Clark	...	Darius
Rosalyn Coleman	...	Sigrid
Ellie Foumbi	...	Bank Teller
Yvette Ganier	...	Bank Customer
Benton Greene	...	Bank Customer
Jeremie Harris	...	Leroy
Frances Lozada	...	Bank Manager
Obatala Mawusi	...	School Security Officer
Nedra McClyde	...	Teacher
Darius Clark Monroe	...	Himself
James O'Brien	...	Principal
Brian Satz	...	Detective
Vladimir Versailles	...	Pierre (as Vladimi Versailles)
Max B. Young	...	Bank Customer

Storyline

Tens years after robbing a Bank of America, filmmaker Darius Monroe returns home to examine how his actions affected the lives of family, friends...and victims.

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Taglines:

Evolution of a Criminal is a painstakingly personal look at one man's quest for redemption.

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 March 2014 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Relative Noise,Aliquot Films,Deerjen Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

A Touching Autobiographical Film of a Man's Crime and Rehabilitation

Evolution of a Criminal was extremely enthusiastically received in its world premiere at Austin's SXSW Film Festival. The young director, Darius Clarke Monroe, tells his own story of how a 16-year-old black teenager from a struggling working class family in Houston became robbed a bank to help out his family with its financial struggles. He went to prison for a few years and has since graduated from college and attended NYU's Graduate Film program. In the film, Darius interviews with his family, accomplices, victims at the bank (who were not physically harmed) and the prosecutor to tell the story of what happened to him. He combines the interviews with reenactments of the bank robbery and events around it. The story provides the audience with a powerful portrait of how a bright young man feels compelled to commit a crime to help out his family. We often forget that crime is often motivated by economic struggles and not some deep-seated character flaw.

This film also shows that it is possible to turn one's life around. The most powerful message of this film is that ex-convicts can be rehabilitated and become law-abiding citizens as Darius has. Those folks – especially here in Texas – who want to lock-up criminals and throw away the keys need to see Darius's story. I hope that this film is widely-distributed so that people can learn from Darius's experiences.