Little Sweetheart

Apparently on the shelf for a bit (and most likely released to capitalize on John Hurt's critically acclaimed performance in the recent Scandal), this obnoxious little thriller stars Hurt and Karen Young as a pair of embezzlers on the lam. Finding a little cottage on the Florida coast, Burger (Hurt) and Dorothea (Young) settle down to a nice vacation, which is quickly spoiled by a neighbor: nine-year-old Thelma Davis (Cassie Barasch) and her new friend nine-year-old Elizabeth. Thelma photographs the couple in a compromising position (sort of an advanced stage of the famous beach scene in From Here To Eternity), and then blackmails Burger for a whopping hundred dollars. Things go from bad to worse, as Thelma and Elizabeth break into Burger's cottage, steal his gun, and in a moment of irritability Thelma shoots Elizabeth, and then chases her down the beach, as the bleeding Elizabeth flees for her life (this is truly one of the most distasteful scenes in modern cinema). By the time Burger catches on to this "little sweetheart," he's being booked for the murder of Elizabeth. What's really exasperating is that the filmmakers are not content to make a cheap little exploitation film. Whenever Thelma's not stealing or shooting, she's watching violent episodes on TV news or horror films. This completely unsubstantiated "moral message" of the movie only adds insult to injury. Not recommended. (R. Pitman)