‘Evolution of a Criminal’ a gripping return to scene of crime

Part dramatic re-creation and part confessional, the first-person documentary “Evolution of a Criminal” traces Darius Clark Monroe’s seemingly abrupt path from honors high school student to teenage bank robber.

Even Monroe’s New York University film professors were unaware that, at age 16, he had been sentenced to five years for robbing a Houston bank of $140,000 in a bid, he says, to help his struggling parents.

Addressing the actions of his younger self, the articulate Monroe revisits the scenes of the crime, going so far as to apologize to several of the customers who were at the bank that fateful day.

The resulting film, on which Spike Lee came aboard as executive producer, makes for often-intriguing if not completely absorbing viewing.

Although budgetary or logistical constraints render dramatic reenactments less effective — the bank hold-up is distractingly staged in what is clearly a storefront office rather than an actual bank — Monroe’s mea culpa nevertheless addresses some compelling social issues.

Among those subjects from his past is a blunt juvenile prosecutor who, while commending Monroe for making amends, cautions him to not “get discouraged when it doesn’t mean something to everyone.”

By choosing to turn the camera on oneself in this age of the selfie, even the most noble of personal intentions can potentially be viewed as a publicity stunt.

“Evolution of a Criminal.”

No MPAA rating.

Running time: 1 hour, 23 minutes.

Playing: Laemmle’s Music Hall 3, Beverly Hills.