My Name Is “A” By Anonymous

The sensational 2009 Missouri murder case revolving around Alyssa Bustamante, who killed 9-year-old neighbor Elizabeth Olten just for the thrill of it, is the acknowledged inspiration for Shane Ryan's film. However, this is not a typical docudrama, but rather an impressionistic piece shot in an artsy cinema vérité style intended to convey the gritty, hopeless environment in which such a heinous act might occur. Much screen time is devoted to long and tedious sequences of teenage girls wandering about desolate landscapes while arguing among themselves (only half-humorously). Interspersed are scenes portraying their unhappy home lives, with strong hints of abuse and neglect, and occasional monologues in which characters vent frustration over their lot in life. The murder itself finds “A” (Katie Marsh)—the Bustamante stand-in—treating her victim-to-be to a soda in a diner, followed by the actual killing, portrayed (bloodlessly) as a sort of ritualistic act witnessed by a crowd of teens. Some individual moments here carry a grim power, but the overall repetitiveness and narrative opacity make this something of a chore to sit through. Optional, at best. (F. Swietek)