A twisted, narcissistic spin on the redemption story archetype, E.L. Katz's Small Crimes effectively transports the viewer into a world of self-interest and degradation, detailing the exploits of Joe, a disgraced former cop who has just been released after serving a six-year prison sentence for attempted murder. Vague about the crime itself, Small Crimes is a film which lets the viewer piece together the underlying facts along the way, following Joe as he returns home, only to find himself pulled back into the world he left behind, one which includes dirty cops, a bookie, and a man whose been left emotionally and physically damaged by Joseph's past transgressions, who remains out for justice, unable to except Joe's less-than-fair punishment for his crime. E.L. Katz's Small Crimes embraces the world in which its character in inhabits, shaping Joseph's characterization through the interactions he has with other people when he returns home. All parties involved throughout this film, outside of Joe's own parents, feel corrupt, diabolical or untrustworthy, as Small Crimes paints a picture of a protagonist in Joe, who isn't exactly considered a good, upstanding Samaritan. From his own parents, who remain deeply concerned and unwilling to trust Joseph with the simplest of good-natured tasks, to the various old acquaintances and ex-associates Joseph runs into, each with their own baggage, Small Crimes sculpts an environment where Joseph himself is revealed as a character, a low-life individual whose path to possible redemption feels continuously fleeting. While Joe's intentions seem genuine, it becomes clear through his interactions with others that he simply cannot fully separate himself from his past deceptions and double-crosses, a character himself who grasps at goodness, but struggles to consistently stay out of trouble due to his sorted past. He is a character who seemly cannot escape his past, no matter how hard he tries, a reality which creates continous trauma among those in his life outside of this deadly world, most notably his parents and his young daughters, whom he isn't allowed to see. While it's debatable whether Joe's character deserves or earns the audience's sympathy, Katz's film does interject glimpses of goodness in this character, most notably through the relationship which unfolds between him and Charlotte, the hospice worker of an old, seedy acquaintance of Joe. While their initial romance is sparked by Joe's deception, as he slowly peels away her inhibitions in an effort to leave her susceptible to being taken advantage of, as their relationship continues, it becomes clear that Joe has grown a form of attachment to Charlotte, drawn in by her authentic nature and empathy she shows towards him. Not even Joe's own parents have as much faith in Joe as a person, and Charlotte offers up a glimmer of hope to Joe, showing him a level of trust and genuine belief in his ability to be good, a hope that is quickly dashed in the end due to the combination of Joe's past and sorted present situation continually biting him. The ending of Small Crimes may be a bit shocking to some viewers but considering what transpires it feels like the only way to end a film like this, with Joe's corrupt past eventually leading to his demise. Joe's transgressions, his dealing with the wrong individuals eventually impact those in his life who are innocent in scary and tragic ways, leaving his father with no other choice but to cut out the cancer that has infected his family, doing what he believes is the only guarantee that the truly innocent lives in this, Joe's own daughters, could never be inflicted with the burden of their father's past mistakes. E.L. Katz's Small Crimes is a subversive look at the redemption story, a darkly comedic, tense story about a man who is unable to surpass his past mistakes.
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June 2023
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