“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 …
Killers of the Flower Moon lays plain yet another appalling chapter of American history. The Reign of Terror in the 1920s saw the Osage people murdered by white people who felt the wealth from oil was their God-given right as the superior race. Apparently, they Read More …
Spotlight is pervaded by incredulity, pain, and anger, laced with sadness and guilt. Working with a script co-written by Josh Singer, director Tom McCarthy brings precision and persuasive detail to a portrait of a specific time, place, and perspective: Boston, seen through the eyes of The Globe‘s Read More …
What Jame Gumb (aka “Buffalo Bill”) does to his victims is a crime, but calling it that seems insufficient. When Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) finally puts him down, it is not an act of punishment but self-preservation. Perhaps because of centuries of rhetorical appropriation, it Read More …
The Irishman, titled onscreen I Heard You Paint Houses from the title of the book it is based on, is a staggering portrayal of one man on the margins of twentieth century American history. The film follows Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran (Robert De Niro) in his journey Read More …
In 2020, I earned 5 minutes on the phone with Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man, Fitzcarraldo), and I assailed the man with questions on a topic that is always on my mind: how the canon of cinema is changing and solidifying now that the art form Read More …