Neo-noir crime well-worth a relaxing evening with Netflix.
Small Town Crime
True to the title, this neo-noir thriller set in a small Utah town is small in the crimes and the colorful characters, most of whom wouldn’t last in an urban battleground. That also means the crimes have a heft because nothing much else happens that’s even remotely big.
Disgraced ex-cop Mike Kendall (John Hawkes), in his muscle car discovers an almost-dead woman on the side of the road. He’s still a good guy, tries to help her, then tries to find her murderer, pro bono. As Mike hits the bars (he’s also an alcoholic who asks a buddy to accompany him around bars after an AA meeting) to find out who knew her, he meets a variety of thugs who definitely feel they’re big-city, but they’re not.
Although the plot unfolds in formulaic fashion, with good and bad guys exchanging barbs and bullets, the interesting stuff is the variety of characters—even the women, Octavia Spencer as Mike’s adopted sister (she’s a producer) among them, are given room to develop small characters. As Grandpa of the murdered girl, Robert Forster once again proves his affinity for noir with an uncommon affinity for guns; his death 2 years later in 2019 was a loss for those who love small films with talented actors like him.
However, hardboiled Hawkes is the draw in Small Town Crime, a large nose dominating a mouth that says little but carries big warning. This thriller is small with tones that vary wildly as Hawkes himself does, but the characters are figuratively big like the film as it chronicles small minds bent on large menace.
On Netflix
Small Town Crime
Director: Eshom Nelms (Fatman), Ian Nelms (Fatman)
Screenplay: Nelms Brothers
Cast: John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone), Octavia Spencer (Help)
Run Time: 1h 31m
Rating: R
John DeSando, a Los Angeles Press Club first-place winner for National Entertainment Journalism, hosts WCBE’s It’s Movie Time and co-hosts Cinema Classics. Contact him at JohnDeSando62@gmail.com
