Young people congregate at a local New South Wales suburb community centre. They also live together in accommodation which is kind of like a halfway house for youngsters from difficult backgrounds. Ely moves in after her mother’s boyfriend sexually assaults her.

Meanwhile, a local businessman who hopes to become a politician holds a dinner party and puts the world to rights.

Crime of the Decade feels like the grittiest after-school special I’ve ever seen. Ely’s sexual assault is massively graphic but doesn’t feel gratuitous. There are other topics such as unemployment, drugs and the feeling of having no future which arise during the movie’s running time.

The locales of Crime of the Decade feel completely authentic and synonymous with those of a dead-end suburb- the community centre, the cafe of a local swimming pool resplendent with arcade games, the street.

I love how the two narratives and the two groups of characters intersect in the darkest way possible at the film’s conclusion.

Crime of the Decade is a terrific TV movie.

4 out of 5 stars