John Hawkes stars as a down-and-out ex-cop playing private investigator in this modern film noir from writer-directors Ian and Eshom Nelms. After being bounced from the force because his alcoholism contributed to the death of his partner, Mike Kendall (Hawkes) spends his days drinking and pretending to look for work in order to keep the unemployment checks rolling in. When he discovers a brutalized woman on the side of the road who later dies, however, Kendall is determined to find the person responsible—a quest that leads to the deceased’s wealthy grandfather (Robert Forster) and a jive-talking pimp (Clifton Collins Jr.), while also earning him attention from a couple of vicious thugs working for a sinister cabal that would prefer the reason behind the woman’s unhappy fate to remain an unsolved mystery. Kendall’s investigations endanger his adoptive sister (Octavia Spencer) and her good-natured husband (Anthony Anderson), as well as a bar owner who knows more than he is willing to divulge. By the time the film works its way to a noisy shootout in which Kendall and some unlikely allies face off against murderous hitmen, the Nelms brothers have fashioned a reasonable facsimile of a tale that might have been told in a 1950s pulp paperback. Small Town Crime may not measure up to something like the Coen brothers’ Blood Simple, but the fine cast makes this well worth a look. A strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)
Small Town Crime
Lionsgate, 92 min., R, DVD: $19.99, Blu-ray: $21.99 Volume 33, Issue 4
Small Town Crime
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