Word: ata
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
During the failed robbery, the two bond. Pathetic Ata appeals to street-hardened Bo: "I'm a woman; I have breasts too." After Ata gets control of the gun, Bo spins a hard luck story about the children whom she has to feed, and Ata lets...
...next scene opens with Bo breaking into Ata's apartment (again), this time just to say hello. She is passing through after robbing another apartment in Ata's building. The two concoct a plan to rob Ata's estranged husband. They conduct the robbery with the help of Robbie (Kevin LaVelle), one of Bo's partners in crime. Soon after, Ata becomes "sexually liberated" and decides to forsake her former life for a life of crime...
Everything works out too nicely. Ata just decides, in a fit of neurotic passion, that she wants to defy her husband in some way (i.e., by becoming a criminal), then regains her self-confidence by going off with a woman she barely knows. In a bizarre Flannery O'Connor reference, Bo attempts to convince Ata by telling her, "A good shimmy is hard to find." Ata thinks she's found a life that will finally make her happy...
...times, "Criminal Hearts" seeks to answer big metaphorical questions that go way beyond its scope or capabilities. Ata wonders aloud whether the robbery is really occurring and if she or Bo really exist. There's also the conflict between trust, a value important to Ata, and respect, which Bo chooses. Some subtleties in this generally blatant, in-your-face play do exist, but they aren't satisfying or logical. Only the obvious comes across through the acting...
...done by Hambly, who tries to liven up her flat character. Madden is appropriately unapproachable and successfully conveys a ring of untruth in her voice. Unfortunately, the performances are weakened by the ludicrous subject matter. The minor characters have even less dimension. Since even the relationship between Bo and Ata isn't well-developed, the smaller parts are still less memorable...