A shitty film, especially when you compare it to the real case on which it is based.
After watching
The Girl Next Door,
An American Crime was also on my watch list. Both films tell the story of Sylvia Likens, who was brutally tortured for months and ultimately murdered. The main perpetrator, Gertrude Baniszewski, was supposed to look after Sylvia and her sister, but instead she initiated horrific abuse that even her own children and kids from the neighborhood took part in.
The story in
The Girl Next Door is told in a rather classic way, but is significantly more brutal and psychologically extreme. I would say that I have a pretty thick skin due to my viewing habits, but the film really affected me. And honestly, that's a good thing. The case was so horrific that any "gentle" portrayal would be out of place. Anyone who reads the extremely detailed Wikipedia entry on it will know what I'm talking about.
And this is precisely where
An American Crime fails. The film mixes the events with the subsequent trial and attempts to show the violence less explicitly. In my opinion, this is a mistake because it completely relativizes the extent of the crime. The film is far too lenient in its judgment and portrayal of the perpetrators, it simply fails to do justice to reality.
Because the film uses partly real facts and also uses the trial it comes across as way to authentic. For viewers who are unfamiliar with the real case, this creates simply the wrong picture.
I totally understand the dilemma with films like this: if you give too much space to violence, it very quickly becomes voyeuristic and exploitative. Nevertheless, in my opinion, it must try to portray events in such a way that the extent of the crime is understood. Here, it has failed to do so.
If you wanna ruin your day:
Wikipedia article on the case 
