Post-Prison Pathos in ‘Life of Crime 2’

Crime in America often manifests itself, insofar as the national media is concerned, in the coverage of mega-events--schoolyard ambushes, serial murders, massive drug busts, multibillion-dollar corporate misdeeds. But most crime takes place in a far less conspicuous manner, in thousands of instances of shoplifting, personal drug use, auto stripping and petty theft.

A powerful view of that world of small-time crime was central to filmmaker Jon Alpert’s 1989 HBO special, “One Year in a Life of Crime,” a penetrating examination of the lives of two petty criminals from New Jersey, Freddy and Rob. Using up-close, hand-held camera techniques, roving from crime scene to family interactions, the documentary came to a close with both men sentenced to prison terms.

“Life of Crime 2,” which begins its run on HBO tonight, picks up on the progress of Freddy and Rob over the next decade as they are released from prison, adding to the cast Rob’s on-and-off girlfriend Deliris. Once again, Alpert’s camera techniques place the viewer directly in the heart of a dangerous environment filled with chaotic, obsessive behavior.

Both Rob and Freddy are outgoing, quick-witted individuals whose obvious native intelligence and gregarious sense of humor have been placed at the service of their addictions. What emerges most painfully from this dark, sad view of the underside of urban life is the terrible sense of loss. Loss in the way in which Rob and Freddy sacrifice any chance at normal lives. But most distressing is watching as Alpert probes the damage that Deliris’ drug-addicted behavior inflicts upon her three children.

In one especially poignant scene, Deliris, who has lost custody of her children, is allowed to share Christmas with them. When Deliris starts to leave, her daughter Kiki says, “I want you to stop all the things that you’re doing so you can take us back.” But Deliris--already showing signs of needing a fix--leaves, choosing heroin over her children on Christmas Eve.

There are dozens of other similarly touching moments in this disturbing but extremely telling documentary. Appropriately, Alpert chooses to have the chilling final message delivered by Freddy. Back behind bars, with a death sentence hanging over him, Freddy says: “Everybody listen to what I’m sayin’. It ain’t worth it. This is what I got, and I’m gonna die here. Bye!”

* “Life of Crime 2” on HBO, Tuesday at 10 p.m.