To anyone who has ever had a disappointing father yet still was able to get past his shortcomings and love him this is your movie. The power to love is what this movie is about. It is not a cliché type movie though. The power of love does not include forgiveness nor going into agreement with or going along with the person. It is the ability to love what goodness there is available in a person despite all the reasons (their bad characteristics) one should not. This movie is a tear jerker but I found it very uplifting as well. Keitel, D'Onofrio and especially Fairuza Balk are all fantastic. The direction and writing are perfect. It is a rare movie. Because I wouldn't change one bit of it. I'd rate it in my top 25 of all time. It's that good.

Everyone who thinks Harvey can only inhabit violent, suffering Martin Scorcese type stories will be amazed at his affecting and emotional turn here, as a father struggling to raise his 2 daughters. Guilt and regret figure prominently in the plot line, which is narrated from a diary by the wonderful Fairuka Balk. Kelly Lynch gives a brief but sad performance as the mother. One of Kietel's best contains his usual trademark shouting scenes but overall: his least bloody and tortured character is also his finest time on film.

Spell Draggy with a capital D. Keitel, as strong as he is, couldn't salvage this disaster, neither could pretty Fairuza Balk. A trite unimaginative story of a loser conman father (Keitel) as he blunders his way through life providing little fathering for his two daughters. Boring, predictable, draggy (oh, that was twice? it deserves it!) News of his ultimate death puts him out of his misery - it's a shame we couldn't have enjoyed the same fate about a hundred minutes earlier. An insult to Willie Loman and Death of a Salesman which this obviously borrowed heavily from. Skip renting it - and if it on TV and you only have one channel, watch the commercials, they have a much higher entertainment value. 2/10

In my opinion 'Imaginary Crimes' along with 'Fight Club' are the best films of the 90's. 'Imaginary Crimes' may not have the most original story around but it's done to perfection. It tells it's sad story in a way that's never overly depressing and the performances are all top notch, with the standouts being Fairuza Balk and Harvey Keitel who are both totally amazing. Specials mention most go to Anthony Drazan for his superb direction especially in the scene where Balk refuses to go with Keitel to Reno. Anyone who watches this film without getting a tear in the eye must be made of stone. 10/10