Small Crimes

Don't believe the low rating. This is an excellent drama, well written, well acted, well directed.

This film tells the story of a disgraced policeman, who served years in prison for killing another man while he was drunk. After his release from prison, he has to live under the ghost of his past.

I'm not sure why the film is called "Small Crime", as none of the crimes displayed are small. The way people treat each other in the film is horrendous, as they insult, physically and emotionally hurt each other all the time. It's full of negativity, and I don't like the film.

Netflix's Small Crimes is a bitter, barren, gnarled piece of work that leaves an uneasy vacuum in the air as it passes. If you haven't heard of it yet, that's because the platform does almost zero promotion when new content comes off the assembly line, quietly slipping it onto the site without so much as a TV spot. Some are forgettable, and some are gems that could have done with a bit of buildup. This one is like David Mamet, Cormac McCarthy and Elmore Leonard sipping whiskey sours one cold, empty night and brainstorming ideas. I love the time honoured themes presented here, but what I love and admire more is the filmmaker's courage in completely subverting, perverting and putrefying the formula. There's countless films about disgraced cops, criminals or what- have-you who return home to a small town with designs on putting the wrong things right and finding a modicum of redemption. Thing is, in 99.999% of these films, we end up with a happy ending where all the kinks are ironed out and bygones are left as such, a trend which really cripples the stakes and grinds our expectations down with a blunt, predictable Hollywood ending. Not this one. Nikolai Koster-Waldau, aka Jamie Lannister, is a wiry, cracked out ex con who used to be a cop, before he viciously, and I do mean viciously, sliced up the town DA at the behest of a crime kingpin. Moping back into the county following a six year stretch in the pen, it's inevitable that his very presence will stir up a few noxious vibes. Sure enough, he runs into trouble from all angles, including the vengeful DA (", looking like he shaves with a wheat thresher), a scummy corrupt detective (Gary Cole eats up the dialogue like candy), the mobsters he used to be employed by, and even his parents (Robert Forster & Jacki Weaver), who are clearly broken by the past. There's a feeling of inescapable doom, an inevitable choking quicksand that Waldau wades deeper into, his seemingly noble intent on reconnecting with his wife and daughters gradually ground away to reveal the true nature of his path, and it ain't pretty. Gary Cole has a way with words and mannerisms, and he runs away with his bent cop role, stealing scenes like nobody's business. Forster has salt of the earth gravitas in spades, and nails a near career best scene with clear eyed conviction, nailing our attention to his presence. It's not a perfect film though, there's pacing issues, sometimes it gets a little vague or scattered and a romantic subplot involving a nurse (Molly Parker) seems glaringly out of place. Waldau anchors it though, a twitchy, unpredictable ne'er do well who seems cosmically incapable of getting his act together. The ending floored my expectations and remind that there is hope for fresh narratives and abstract thinking amongst writers. You'll come out of this one bruised, but you'll be glad you sat through the beating.

'SMALL CRIMES': Four Stars (Out of Five)

A dark crime-drama about a former corrupt cop, that's just out of prison for attempted murder (from 6 year earlier), who's desperately trying to leave his former life behind, but can't. The movie stars Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau, Molly Parker, Robert Forster, Jacki Weaver, Gary Cole, Macon Blair, Pat Healy and Michael Kinney. The film was directed by E.L. Katz (who also helmed 2013's outstanding 'CHEAP THRILLS'), and it was written by Katz and Blair (based on the novel, of the same name, by Dave Zeltserman). It was released by Netflix through their streaming site, and it's gotten mixed reviews from critics. I found it to be a pretty impressive, and highly interesting, dark crime movie.

Coaster-Waldau plays Joe Denton, a former corrupt cop that was recently released from prison. Denton did six years for attempting to murder a district attorney, named Phil Coakley (Kinney), under the mob's payroll. He attempts to reunite with his ex-wife, and their children, but learns that they've left town and never want to see him again. Denton instead moves in with his parents (Foster and Weaver), but they're suspicious that he's still a danger to himself, and everyone around him. At the same time he starts a relationship with a nurse (Parker), and he's harassed into committing yet another murder, by a corrupt police lieutenant, and his old partner (Cole).

The movie is really dark, and full of unlikable characters (with just a few exceptions). Coaster-Waldau is likable in the film, I think, but it's clear that he's done some really bad things in his past. I really wanted to root for him, and I did, but the movie is more of a tragedy than anything else actually. It's frustrating to see how some people just can't get things right, no matter how hard they try, and how positive their intentions are. That's the genius of this film, and it does a pretty good job of telling that story.

E.L. Katz directs and co-writes an appreciable crime drama. I knew this film was going to be beguiling from the first scene when Joe, the central character, explains to the prison's chaplain about how he has changed during his jail stint. Upon leaving the chaplain asks Joe, "Would you like to take communion"? Joe replies, "Oh no. I'm all good". This film has considerable direction, cinematography, screenplay and acting. All of the artists involved deliver appreciable performances with Forster, Parker, Weaver and Cole standing out, but Coster-Waldau commands the screen. The plot revolves around Joe Denton who is a former cop being released from jail after serving a six year sentence. He returns to his hometown feeling the need to seek absolution for his past actions. His first goal is to reunite with his children, but they have moved and no one in the family wants Joe near the children due to the chaos he causes. Joe was in debt to a mob boss, Manny for gambling. Joe and another cop Dan had to repay Manny by carrying out any task he assigned. One task leads to the death of Joe's partner, Billy and the disfigurement of an attorney, Phil. Upon his release Phil sets a trap using his daughter Cara but Joe defends himself and brutally beats the men off. Cara is terrified and unwilling to testify against Joe. Phil informs Joe that he can press charges against the men but he's not interested. Joe takes a verbal thrashing from Dan who tells him he'd kill him in Phil wasn't in the room and calls him a Judas. Joe simply wants to put everything in the past and seek redemption. Soon after Joe and Dan meet in a ballpark only to find out that Dan drags Joe back into trouble. He gives Joe cash that was owed to him from six years earlier and then informs him that Manny is on his death bed, has embraced religion and is going to spill the beans on everyone's past. Joe must dispose of Manny. During Joe's quest for vindication and trying to carry out his task he learns that Phil wants the chair for him, he meets Manny's hospice worker Charlotte and takes a severe beating from Manny's son Junior. Joe's attempt to take out Manny is interrupted and Dan suggests he take out Phil instead. Dan threatens Joe's family and insists there can not be an indictment. Joe can't bring himself to killing Phil but through a prostitute comes up with a plan to bribe Phil so nobody gets hurt. He plants a video camera at a set up in a hotel room, but things don't go as planned and two deaths occur in the room. All the while Joe is building a relationship with Charlotte and is trying to rebuild a relationship with his congenial father and harassing mother. Charlotte believes in second chances and steps in to handle Manny, but gets caught in the act. This leads to a showdown at Junior's quarry when all of the sudden the brother of Joe's slain partner, Scotty shows up and all hell breaks loose. Joe also gets a call from Dan congratulating him on a job well done with Phil, but Joe has no idea what he's talking about. In the end Joe returns home to collect his stash of money with the intention of giving it to his kids, but his father will have nothing to do with that. The plot is crisp, clever, insightful, duplicitous, intelligent and has a cathartic ending. There are some themes in this film. Through a discussion between Joe and his father we learn that Joe is not a product of his upbringing or environment. His actions are due to his inner-self and narcissism. We also learn that sometimes redemption can only be achieved through self sacrifice. Bygones be bygones and apologizing just doesn't cut it. This is a competent film in it's genre. It's actually one of three Netflix Originals that were released in 2017 that are hidden gems considering some of the abysmal content available. The other two films are, "Shimmer Lake" and "I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore". That's just my opinion.