Small Town Murder Songs

Recommended for watchers that appreciate the fine enactment of a well-crafted screenplay. Direction also very good. All the actors had their moments, and some were indeed memorable: I shall always remember the look between Rita and Steve at the end when Steve is in the back of the police vehicle. Let's just say brilliant acting, direction, and camera-work must culminate to capture something that good. Of course, one will need to watch what comes before to reach that point. The pace of the movie is deliberate, and dialog is often exchanged haltingly, especially from our main man, Walter (Peter Stormare depicts him from the inside out -- excellent all the way through; also loved the lingering accent, which fits Walter perfectly). Music and biblical quotes were a bit jangling, I must agree, as many other reviewers have noted. The quotes were more of a problem than the music for me, because I have a problem with quotes in general. As a viewer, I don't need to be told what a section of movie is going to be about. That's a bit of an insult, in fact. Anyway, take the quotes out and the movie would have been just as watchable from my perspective. Music -- OK, it adds atmosphere, though again I probably would have enjoyed the movie just as much without it. Reminiscent of another Mennonite-centric film I saw directed by Carlos Reygadas in Mexico, Silent Night, though that was brilliant in a very different way.

To recap, here, "Small Town Murder Songs" is a title that describes the movie literally; the acting, screenplay, and direction make this a watchable film, especially for the contemplative viewer.

Only two words to describe this movie. It sucks.

This movie is not a thriller.

Unless you consider a dog barking in slow motion to be a heart-stopping moment.

Do not go by what a couple of reviewers here have mentioned.

I would not even give this movie a one star but I do because the torture finally ends.

Please believe me when I say that I registered at IMDb only to write this review as I do not wish anyone else to waste a precious couple of hours of their life.

Watch this one at your own peril. You have been warned.

Yeah, it's like a Coen film. Mainly because it's horrible. But also because it doesn't even try to make sense or mean anything.

The movie begins--and is intermittently littered with--ridiculous, meaningless religious expressions like "GOD FINDS US WHERE WE'RE AT". Enlightening? No. Meaningful? No. Pertinent? No.

And the music? It's mixed at an obnoxious volume level, and each and every song is an auditory abomination. Which fits in just fine with the awful script.

It's supposedly "artistic" and "sophisticated" to vomit out movies like this. I think it's lazy and pathetic. Leaving gigantic holes in the plot and nearly totally omitting character development doesn't "make you think", it makes you wonder why you're wasting your time on such a vacuous film.

To be fair, the director set himself up with a task that was going to undermine him. This is the story of a severely bottled-up individual who has a history of rage and violence, who has separated himself from larger society both because he can't trust himself and they know they can't trust him either. But to play such a character means going inward so much that it doesn't give the viewer a whole lot to look at. There are long stretches of this short movie where we see the protagonist simply frozen with his own torment.

The standout performance here is by Jill Hennessey, who conveys such resentment and antipathy toward the protagonist that it practically jumps off the screen. Every frame she's in the movie becomes compelling. If there had been more done with the back story between these two it might have made for a more interesting story.

Regarding the music - this kind of new-gospel is not to my taste, but even if it were, the fact that it's amped-up so loud compared to the rest of the film, where the characters barely speak above a whisper, is completely off-putting. What is supposed to add emotional and spiritual impact ends up just sounding bombastic. I felt aurally mugged.

I have always admired Peter Stormare's acting but I am unable to recall him in a leading role - until now. He provides a strong performance as a religious police officer with violent and painful past, and there are very few scenes without his presence. As for the rest, I cannot find more outstanding features: the plot is slow and dull (the killer can be figured out early), religious soundtrack and church links are annoying, other actors/characters are not catchy. Even in terms of pondering and profundity, there are far more interesting and versatile movies, even from Canada. Luckily, its duration is 1 hour and 10 minutes only.

Thus, a film for art's sake, but not interesting to follow. It could just have been a psychological film without any crime at all. By the way, I like the Coens a lot and have seen all of their films. Small Town Murder Songs does not measure up to them.