Raskolnikow on AllMovie

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari director Robert Wiene gives F. Dostoyevsky's literary classic a German expressionist makeover with this nightmarish take on Crime and Punishment. Impoverished student Raskolinov is in a dire position; his judgment has been so deeply damaged by hunger and deprivation that he sees no moral quandary in taking the life of another man. That man is Aliona, and elderly pawnbroker who hastened Raskolinov's economic demise. Convinced that murder is justifiable if the target is a toxic blight on society, Raskolinov finds his diabolical deed unexpectedly complicated when, in the process of killing Aliona, the pawnbroker's sister drops in for a surprise visit. Instinctively, Raskolinov turns on her as well, thoughtlessly taking the life of an innocent who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. His guilt swelling with each passing hour, the repentant killer struggles to find peace as the law closes in from every side.