Small Town Murder Songs (2011)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Simply A Masterpiece

Just what I expected

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The oddly and evocatively titled "Small Town Murder Songs" is a stark, powerful drama that in brief outline can sound mistakenly as it turns out -- very much like a police procedural. Instead, it's a character study about a man desperately trying to hold onto some sense of himself while squeezed in a psychological, spiritual, and professional vise. Toronto writer/director Gass-Donnelly combines powerful imagery to a thundering score rich in percussion and choral singing, created by Bruce Peninsula. Rarely does cinema and music mesh as boldly as this. It's a fairly straightforward movie told in a very brief 75 minutes -- every scene carries weight, and nothing is wasted.Set in a tiny Mennonite community in the lovely rural heartlands outside of London, Ontario, where Walter (Peter Stormare) is an aging police officer who is investigating the murder of a young women whose naked body was found dumped in the weeds on the outskirts of town. Walter must do his job, but his current investigation involves something from his past. He is a man haunted with regret, searching for forgiveness and deliverance, which only accentuates the poignancy of his current situation.Stormare delivers a tremendous performance, completely inhabiting his character. He superbly conveys the interior torment of a violent man attempting to live and work as a peacemaker, but you have to wonder if he couldn't have used a bit more of a back story. The story is so lean, we really don't know enough about Walter to fully appreciate the burden he must bear. The musical score elevates this otherwise bare film, truly enhancing this simple story while adding emotional depth in place of the ambiguity of its characters. Between Stormare's performance, the cinematography, and the forceful atmospheric music, "Small Town Murder Songs" achieves a unique kind of splendor.

Peter Stormare. The first time I saw him^ was in another (homespun) murder-story: 'Fargo'. There, he fit the bill perfectly, but here... I don't know, really. He has plenty of charisma for me to stay interested, but his performance never got under my skin, nor did the whole 'story'.The big texts on the screen weren't helping either, they didn't add anything to what was plainly there already. The music - fierce gospels with rhythmic percussion - is in itself beautiful, but maybe used a little too much.'Small town...' is a somewhat contemplative film on violence, change and forgiveness and their place in society and man, but it never becomes a truly gripping tale.5 out of 10.^ I checked out his career, and it seems I must have seen him earlier in 'Awakenings', but I can't recall his part.

The movie itself is a haunting, powerful experience, much like the excellent Gothic thriller "Septien" and the short film "The Abattoir". These films are set in provincial towns, seemingly cut off from the world, and that adds to the suspense and mystery.But check the discussion boards, I'm not the only one who thought the overbearing music killed the mood. The music itself was appropriate (jarring religious hymns), but they were just so loud and harsh that they distracted from the poetry of what was on screen. My advice to you would be to turn the volume down as much as possible while still being able to understand the dialogue. If you have it up too loud, I guarantee your neighbors will start pounding on the floor thinking you're starting a weird psycho cult and sacrificing first born children or something twisted like that.Back to the movie, like I said above, it's suspenseful and mysterious. There's not a lot of action. In fact, basically there's no action at all. Instead you get a thick disturbing atmosphere, occasional dramatic flashbacks and unyielding tension building up. Very effective.The DVD cover compares it to the Coen Brothers. I can definitely see some similarities with their serious side ("A Serious Man", "The Man Who Wasn't There"). It also reminded me of the 2005 film "Capote". If you like slow, heavy thrillers with interesting characters but not much action, give it a shot. Just beware of the loud soundtrack.

Well, it's happened before where I've been taken in by the promotional blurbs on a film's DVD cover. "A rare film. Cosmologically profound." was the way Variety Magazine put it. "A must-see fresh take on crime and redemption." from the Toronto Star; forgivable I guess because this is a Canadian movie. Then there's "Haunting...Totally Captivating.", which if I had read further to see that it came from the Huffington Post I might have put it down right there.With that kind of a build-up, my expectations were raised for a unique viewing experience. Unfortunately, this film with the cool title is basically your every day murder mystery that could pass in most places as a TV episode, take your pick of series. A plot element that might have had much more of an impact if it had been explored further was the character of police chief Walter (Peter Stormare), who in flash backs is shown beating on an unknown victim, but without that person's identity, there's no ability to connect the dots to the case at hand. All we know is that Walter has rage control problems and he's trying to overcome them, but in the final analysis, I didn't find that to be good enough.Oddly, with the issue I had with the story line, I was strangely fascinated by the bluesy gospel inspired sound track. It would have been better if the music didn't suddenly blare out at you as it did; I had to constantly go for the volume control to bring the level down a few notches. I don't know anything about the Mennonite community or their religion, so I can't say if the music fit the picture's sensibilities or not. But it did seem to reconcile itself with Walter's quest for personal redemption.Now I'm thinking about the ending, and I have to wonder. Was the creepy guy Steve arrested for the murder (all indications pointed to that), or for assailing Walter? You know these two had a bad history between them, but was this a case of the ends justifying the means on Walter's part? Not really clear if you think about it. And the bigger question - how does a looker like Rita get involved with a couple of characters like Walter or Steve in the first place?