Shimmer Lake

It's smart, funny, dark and succinct. Makes you use your brain a bit as you rethink the previous scenes with each newfound bit of information. I was pleasantly entertained and actually laughed out loud several times. A hidden gem of a movie that deserves much better than the 6.2 rating it currently has. I'm starting to lose faith in the IMDb rating system.

'SHIMMER LAKE': Four Stars (Out of Five)

A crime thriller told in reverse order, about a sheriff investigating a bank robbery involving his brother and two old high school friends. It was written and directed by first time feature filmmaker Oren Uziel (who previously wrote the horror-comedy 'FREAKS OF NATURE', and he also co-wrote '22 JUMP STREET'). The movie stars Benjamin Walker, Rainn Wilson, Stephanie Sigman, Wyatt Russell, Adam Pally, Mark Rendall, John Michael Higgins, Ron Livingston and Rob Corddry. It was released by Netflix through their streaming site, and it's gotten polarized reviews from critics (from the small number that have seen it that is, but some rave about it). I really enjoyed it too.

The story is told over the course of one week, in reverse order, starting with Friday. It's about a bank robbery gone wrong, in a small town, being investigated by Sheriff Zeke Sikes (Walker). The robbery was carried out by Zeke's brother Andy (Wilson), and two old high school friends of theirs, Ed Burton (Russell) and Chris Morrow (Rendall). On Friday, Andy is trying to get away with the money from the robbery, while his brother is looking for him. We see Andy's fate, and then we learn what happened to everyone else, and everything that happened leading up to Friday, in reverse daily order.

The movie is pretty cleverly written, and acted, and it even has a pretty fun twist at the end. It seems fresh, and pretty original, but if you take away the 'reverse order' storytelling gimmick, it's not really that original or memorable. Still it's highly amusing, and always interesting to watch. It should keep most viewers guessing (until the very end) as well. It did for me, and I definitely recommend it.

This movie shows us the events which unfold after a bank robbery, in reverse. It is a very gripping film that has you wondering right until the last scene. Great characters and dialogue, with a good mix of suspense and action. If you enjoy the movie, no doubt you will want to watch it again, since the movie is played in reverse chronological order. I think the decision to show the movie in this order was risky, but well executed. Great length, no filler... awesome movie!

I read the plot summary, "OK, structured like Memento, let's see if it's original." Started out fair with nothing very compelling. Seemed like a standard small town crime story with nothing new beyond the backwards- in-time format. But definitely picks up along the way. Got more interested as I watched and it ultimately paid off very well! The structure truly served the plot and was not just applied to make it seem creative. It was inventive, tautly paced, well cut and an appropriate length. Give it a shot. You might even want to watch it again. I plan to.

Although you don't have a character with short time memory loss, the story is told in pieces and starts in "current time", to move backwards, day by day. An obvious choice, since this makes the movie a little bit more interesting and gives it an edge, it would not have otherwise. After I finished it, I did rewind and check some scenes. There were subtle hints for things to come or rather things that happened.

Still it is not above complete scrutiny and some may even say it is too clever for its own good. Nit-picking aside, if you like decent thrillers that keep you guessing with decent actors and decent acting in it, I can recommend this movie to you. Even with the warning signs, there are certain things that will surprise you. Whether you agree with the "morals" of the movie or not. And whether you accept some "coincidences" or not, is up to you ...