Henry Czerny, Jsu Garcia, Kirk B.R. Woller

Everything changes for kleptomaniac Emily Brown (Meredith Bishop) when she's caught red-handed by a store detective (Jsu Garcia) in this crime drama. Counseling and medication prove no match for Emily...( read more  read more... )'s overwhelming compulsion, but her life takes a turn when she encounters a detective who seems more interested in the klepto he's collared than in recovering stolen merchandise.

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66 ratings

Unrated

Directed by: Thomas Trail

Release Date: March 5, 2003

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DVD Release Date: April 18, 2006

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Flixster Reviews (13)


  • November 10, 2009

    ...( read more)x;">






    Klepto (2003)
    Written by Ethan Gross and Thomas Trail.
    Directed by Thomas Trail.
    Production Design: Shelby Wood
    With Meredith Bishop, Jsu Garcia, Leigh Taylor-Young, and Michael Nouri.

    A mentally unstable kleptomaniac is blackmailed into a get rich quick scheme by an unscrupulous department store security specialist in this arty thriller.

    Magnolia Pictures is a production company which finances, produces and distributes unusual independent films. Magnolia appears to have taken the clever strategy of marketing home theater equipment which provided the company with a substantial enough capital base to fund their cinematic projects. Now that their home entertainment products are in place in consumers' homes, they provide the entertainment to play on them, usually in the form of direct to DVD releases. Nearly all of their offerings are noteworthy in some way and Klepto is no exception.

    In Klepto, Meredith Bishop plays Emily, an attractive but troubled, medication-addicted young woman. She fills the void left by the unexplained disappearance of her father by shoplifting a variety of items. Her favorites are Swiss timepieces which remind her of her father's. Leigh-Taylor Young (I Love You Alice B. Toklas!, Soylent Green) plays her shallow, compulsively shopping, absentee mother.

    Emily is observed by a security specialist named Nick (Garcia) in the act of shoplifting. Nick is in dire financial straits and ensnares her into a desperate scheme to achieve financial independence. Unfortunately, Nick, while resourceful, is a chronic foul-up and his machinations become increasingly convoluted as each stage of his plan meets with devastating failure.

    Emily meanwhile, is struggling with multiple medication addictions, pathological kleptomania, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and surprise, complicating visits from her naive mother. She is motivated to assist Nick in order to avoid being exposed as a thief, but also as part of an offer Nick makes to help her locate her father.

    Nick, unaware of the severity of Emily's condition, drags her into his disintegrating life further complicating hers with disastrous results. The timing of the movie is precisely executed as its well paced, original plot cascades toward certain but indeterminate calamity.

    A strong visual emphasis is presented of the coveting of expensive luxury commodities, a plethora of multicolored medications and a lot of surreal, CCTV imagery. The cinematography is artfully executed. It is crisp and concise. The shots are very creative.

    There is an impressive, lengthy, continuous Steadiicam shot of Emily strolling through a parking lot, into a department store, up an escalator and through store aisles near the climax of the film. Despite drastic changes in lighting intensity and many obstacles, the exposure of this shot is perfect and the camera work is impeccably smooth.

    The shot faces Emily, as if the observer is walking ahead of her facing backwards. This causes one to experience her stressful endeavor from her point of view. However, because one cannot see where she is going, only where she has been, the camera technique in this pivotal scene magnifies her tension and the suspense of the moment.

    This is a well acted, tight, concise little gem of a film that will appeal to anyone with a desire for a movie with a different feel from more conventional and commercial entires in the crime thriller genre.

    "A nifty little character study-cum-caper flick ... Performances are strong down the line ... a well thought out visual aesthetic." Dennis Harvey, Daily Variety.

    Klepto - CLICK to play Trailer
  • September 19, 2009
    Typical Indie: uninteresting leads with a story that could have been so much better.
  • February 10, 2009
    Some may disagree, but I consider this film to contain Jsu Garcia's finest acting since THE LAWLESS LAND.
  • February 2, 2009
    hmmm...
    klepto....!!!
    top bgt...!!!

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  • In "monkey trouble" Dodger is Americas most wanted klepto, trained to steal. but what does he steal?  Answer »

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