Dir: Ed Gass-Donnelly
Starring: Peter Stormare, Aaron Poole, Martha Plimpton, Jill Hennessy
The Film:
I really liked Small Town Murder Songs, the small town with a mystery setting, a main character whose past still haunts him, a murder to be solved, what isn’t there to draw in the audience? Sure these elements are not new, but the way writer/director Ed Gass-Donnelly tackles it is. This kind of felt like something you might see the Coen Brothers attached to but there are certain elements that make this one of a kind.
We have a police officer Walter (Peter Stormare), living in small town Ontario, he has a past to hide and he’s a mysterious presence. He soon finds there has been a murder of a young woman, and everything he finds out has strings to his former life, including a former flame Rita (Jill Hennessy).
I really hate to divulge too much information on the plot, because watching this all unfold is quite fascinating and there are many mysteries within this layered piece. It is held together by a strong script, solid direction, great performances, really fantastic editing and an absolutely haunting score by Bruce Peninsula. There are so many ingredients with this film and they all blended together to perfectly, which made this such a beautiful watch.
As I mentioned the film boasts some great performances, led by the always-watchable Peter Stormare. This is one of the most layered and stunning performances I have seen from the man, he always delivers trust me but there was just something about his role as Walter that really hit hard. If you are a fan of Stormare’s you owe it to yourself to see this film and watch the man ooze his talents. He disappears into the role, and I honestly forgot I was watching a performance; it was so raw and natural. The combination of this character, the script and Gass-Donnelly’s direction was perfect for Stormare, and I hope somewhere down the line these two can work together again.
Everyone in this film was impressive, but I particularly was taken with Martha Plimpton in this as Sam, Walter’s girlfriend. She is a great actress and she can disappear into any role whether it be dramatic or comedic, and this was no different. There was a certain type of vulnerability she showed with this character that worked, but there was an inner strength as well, things that you could really see in her eyes as she delivered her performance. I was extremely impressed by her, and again I would love to see her work with the director and Stormare again.
This is a great film, a really stunning piece and I was most impressed with what Ed Gass-Donnelly crafted as a whole. If you see this sitting on the shelves or online somewhere, you really need to check this one out, you wont be disappointed.
The Australian DVD:
The DVD I reviewed was a screener, so I am unable to comment on Picture/Audio quality.
Rating:
DVD details here.
Thanks to Bill (Gryphon Entertainment) care of The Analogue Titles for the copy.
The Super Network 