I am embarassed to have even rented David Jacobson's "Criminal." The plot has something to do with a man who steals money from his office so he can buy a bigger house for his family. He becomes ashamed and flees the scene. From there, adventure ensues. I guess Jacobson is trying to say something about the monotony of everyday life, but it is not very effective at all. This movie was made before "Pi," but I don't think Darren Aronofsky used this movie as a blueprint. Similarities between the two movies are that they are both shot completely in black and white, there are main character monologues (both including passages about "When I was young...")and both movies clock in under the 90 minute mark. However, unlike Pi, Criminal does not feature good writing, acting, or suspense. The acting is approximately the quality that one would find in a TV spot for a local car dealership. If you must ignore my warnings and you insist on watching this movie, by the end you will be lucky that this movie only wasted 75 minutes of your time as opposed to 2 hours.