abuse

Latest Articles

Review: Girlfriend

Concerned only with the truth
One night Evan's mother (Amanda Plummer) asks him to make a wish. He says he wants a girlfriend, and his wish comes true, but at a cost.
By PETER KEOUGH | September 27, 2011

Review: My Afternoons with Margueritte

Twisting the "lonely child, clean old man" formula
European cinema doesn't have as many sure-fire formulas as Hollywood, but the one described, I think, by Pauline Kael as the "lonely child, clean old man" scenario has long endured.
By PETER KEOUGH | September 20, 2011

In his new graphic novel, Craig Thompson wins an argument with God

Illuminated manuscript
This book is a gorgeous object; to make it, Thompson apparently covered himself in honey and rolled around in a thousand years of Arabic calligraphy and Islamic art, and the result is breathtaking — the amount of ink expended on one resplendent panel after another, not to mention the virtuoso draftsmanship, speaks of hundreds of hours of hard work.
By S.I. ROSENBAUM | August 31, 2011

Review: A Little Help

Jenna Fischer plays a long-suffering mom
Playing one of the few "normal" people on The Office , Jenna Fischer evinces a quiet sweetness with a tart edge that sustains her amongst the misfits; she's long-suffering, but her rueful irony spares her from victimization.
By PETER KEOUGH | July 26, 2011

5 years against torture

Penal past
The Portland Phoenix ’s prison investigation, focusing on the Maine supermax, has published 75 stories over the past five years. Here are some of the key pieces, with brief updates on what, if anything, has happened since.
By LANCE TAPLEY | November 13, 2010

Abused by the system

Letters to the Portland Editor, December 18, 2009
It is a Godsend to read the article "Stopping Abuse," by Deirdre Fulton, in the October 16 issue. I personally have been dealing with abuse most of my life.
By PORTLAND PHOENIX LETTERS | December 16, 2009

Burning bridges

The brutal reality of a violent relationship
Even though it has been several years since her divorce, "Michelle" still wakes in the middle of the night from nightmares of her past life, only to realize that she is free from the physical pain, anguish, and feelings of utter fear and horror that were part of her 11-year marriage to "Tommy," her high-school sweetheart.
By DEB LANDRY | October 14, 2009

The overtime game

A successful lawsuit shows how Boston’s homicide detectives have gamed the system to line their own pockets
The problems haunting the Boston Police Department’s homicide unit — low arrest rates, cases rejected by juries, and exonerations of wrongfully convicted men — did not occur in a vacuum.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | May 04, 2006