Don’t go into this movie expecting anything you haven’t seen before but do go in seeing a common story done well.
Small Town Crime is a suspenseful, gritty, detective movie that hooks you in from the very beginning. Directed by Eshom Nelms and Ian Nelms, Small Town Crime stars John Hawkes, Caity Lotz, Stefanie Scott, James Lafferty, and Michael Vartan. John Hawkes plays Mike Kendall, a alcoholic ex-cop, who finds a body of a dead woman on the side of the road. He begins to investigate and starts to spiral into the criminal underbelly trying to find the truth.
The soundtrack to this movie was very well done. The songs matched the tone and pacing and helped contribute to the overall feel. One song specifically had lyrics that related to the exact scene that was going on at the time which I found to be pretty well done.
John Hawkes does an amazing performance of Mike Kendall, a ex-cop alcoholic who doesn’t play by the rules. He looked and acted so much like an alcoholic I felt myself question if John himself had issues with it in the past. Behind his rugged face you can see who his character used to be. John Hawkes was able to show through acting that his character has demons, and that it is impressive. You really begin to feel for Mike Kendall as he takes you down the seedy trail of crime.
The plot in this movie is a little generic. The whole avenge the girl by getting back at the crime lord has been done pretty extensively. While I feel this movie being a tad generic does hold it back, it still had some points in its favor. The plot was good and flowed smoothly, the soundtrack fit the movie, the acting was good by the main characters.
Small Town Crime is a great movie for what it is: a generic avenge/crime story. The acting by the main characters was surprisingly well done, and the pacing of this movie was on point. Don’t go into this movie expecting anything you haven’t seen before but do go in seeing a common story done well. I didn’t expect much from this movie. I didn’t see any actors I really knew and I had never heard of this movie being in theaters or anything. Ultimately, I came out of this movie surprised by how good it was even though it can be generic.
