Small Town Crime was one of the better films of this early 2018 year that excels thanks to a strong cast led way by John Hawkes with special note toward Robert Forster and Clifton Collins Jr. in smaller roles.
Small Town Crime
(2018)
Genre(s): Drama, Crime, Suspense/Thriller
Lionsgate | R – 93 min. – $21.99 | March 20, 2018
Date Published: 03/27/2018 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 4.5/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Mike Kendall (JOHN HAWKES) is a disgraced ex-cop whose partner was killed on duty while Kendall was drunk. Out of a job and living off of unemployment checks and help from his sister and brother-in-law (OCTAVIA SPENCER, ANTHONY ANDERSON), he’s fighting a battle with the bottle. He still seeks purpose as an investigator and soon finds a case when he stumbles upon a young woman left for dead on the side of the road. So, Mike turns private eye and starts gathering clues leading him to being hired on by the girl’s rich grandfather (ROBERT FORSTER), a dangerous pimp (CLIFTON COLLINS, JR.) and underground sex scandal that is targeting other women.
Quick Hit Review: Every year there are movies that kind of surprise you like last year’s Solace and The Hero, and now there’s Small Town Crime which stars the sometimes underappreciated John Hawkes whose career has primarily been in supporting roles, but taking the lead. It’s not a terribly well written film, by directors Eshom and Ian Nelms, yet excels mainly on its amiable and charismatic cast including Hawke’s portraying an incredibly flawed and very self-centered character using anybody, no matter the stakes. Robert Forster is great in his limited screen time as is Clifton Collins Jr., both I really wish had more to do outside of a well done finale; hell, I wouldn’t even mind a sequel/spin-off. Octavia Spencer also has a small part in terms of acting but apparently as an executive producer was crucial in putting the production together, including wrangling old friend, and Big Momma’s House co-star, Anthony Anderson and as a fan of his, nothing wrong seeing him (really enjoyed his and Sisto’s chemistry in the last couple seasons of Law & Order).
Directed by the Nelms Brothers, Small Town Crime has just enough mystery in conjunction with great character moments to make this an entertaining little suspense/thriller and seeing John Hawkes in a leading role really was a treat as he is a fantastic and sometimes underappreciated actor. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 4.0/5 |
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This release comes with a matted slip cover and inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy. Audio Commentaries:
It’s pretty astounding to see one commentary on a new movie but three? Amazing. All three of these are actually rather entertaining. The Nelms Brothers are a lively duo in their own track but adding in John Hawkes and Octavia Spencer, who offer their perspectives as actors, and Spencer as an executive producer, was a bonus. The technical track also was interesting with all three having energy. Crime and Character (7:44; HD) examines the variety of characters, and actors who portrayed them, in the film and includes on-set interviews with the cast and crew. Can be interesting but a little too short. Devising a Small Town Crime (7:00; HD) breaks down the story of the film and how it was initially developed. Deleted Scenes (3:29; HD) – There were five scenes that didn’t make the cut, likely for pacing issues or introducing characters with that are inconsequential. Extended Scenes (7:09; HD) is more of the same, probably trimmed the scenes to keep the movie going. Previews – The Trust, Hangman, 24 Hours to Live, Killing Gunther, Blood Money |
VIDEO – 4.0/5 |
| Small Town Crime wakes up in the desert and finds the Blu-ray alongside the road. It’s presented with a 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio and given a satisfactory 1080p high-definition transfer (MPEG-4 AVC codec). Colors are a bit on the muted side in keeping with the grittier crime-mystery nature of the plot, but there is some modest pops here and there but detail is sharp throughout. |
AUDIO – 4.0/5 |
| The movie includes a satisfying lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which outputs strong dialogue primarily via the center channel and the front and rear channels do get some reserved usage with the music or score as well as some of the various gunplay where bullets flying to have a modest impact. |
OVERALL – 4.25/5 |
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Overall, Small Town Crime was one of the better films of this early 2018 year that excels thanks to a strong cast led way by John Hawkes with special note toward Robert Forster and Clifton Collins Jr. in smaller roles. This release from Lionsgate includes a fair amount of bonus features and quality video/audio transfers. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.