True Grit skillfully and thoughtfully intertwines two common conflicts in Crime and Punishment films. The thin line between vengeance and justice is given a fresh look by making the ambiguously motivated champion of justice a child: Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld). The belief in the intrinsic Read More …
Often held up as heroes in pop culture, the FBI spent much of its history as the private police of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. While it may be morbidly fun to talk about the time Hoover tried to use the FBI to frame Charlie Read More …
Dear Elmer Gantry, meet me at the revival meeting. Do not sit in the preacher’s seat and do not sit in the front row where everyone can see you. Try to be as invisible as you can, and try not to say anything. Try instead Read More …
At the most basic level, Heat deserves its place on a “Crime and Punishment” list as a cop and robber heist film, told through a riveting cat-and-mouse chase by director Michael Mann. On a much more fascinating level, the importance of its inclusion here reflects a broader Read More …
“The way we work, changing destiny and all…we’re more like clergy than cops.” Steven Spielberg’s 2002 film Minority Report explores a future where “Precrime” technology (enabled by psychics with precognitive powers) allows law enforcement to arrest individuals before they commit crimes. John Anderton (Tom Cruise) Read More …
There’s no shortage of qualities to praise about Anatomy of a Murder. The slick jazz score by Duke Ellington lends an element of timeless cool, while the cackle-worthy screenplay easily makes this one of the most entertaining legal dramas of all time, if not one Read More …
Catch Me If You Can follows the semi-true story of Frank Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio), a teenage con artist who stole millions of dollars over the course of six years, posing as an airplane pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer, before ultimately being arrested and Read More …
In 2024, Arts & Faith sponsored a panel of cinephiles to vote on the Top 25 “spiritually significant” films about crime and punishment. Listen to a podcast introduction from Linsdey Dunn and Christian Jessup: To read an appreciation from one of the jurors, click on Read More …
The Godfather has provoked so much nostalgia that it is easy to forget or overlook the fact that Michael Corleone’s recitation of the “offer he can’t refuse” story is met with horrified disgust from his girlfriend. “That’s my family, Kay, not me,” he insists. By Read More …
Our personal faith is a beautiful thing — no matter where that may lie for each of us. It sings in the babbling brooks, dances in the rustling leaves, and, for Jen Starling who is played brilliantly by Eliza Scanlen, is intertwined with a deep, Read More …