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Small Town Murder Songs

Play trailer Poster for Small Town Murder Songs R 2011 1h 16m Crime Drama Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
79% Tomatometer 19 Reviews 47% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
An ex-lover and her suspicious boyfriend complicate a troubled cop's (Peter Stormare) investigation of his small town's first murder in decades.
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Small Town Murder Songs

Critics Reviews

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Joe Morgenstern Wall Street Journal 07/07/2011
"Small Town Murder Songs" moves so deliberately, with such confident authority, that every small event takes on cumulative significance... Go to Full Review
Stephen Holden New York Times 06/30/2011
4/5
Beneath a deceptive calm, it uncovers a core of fear and loathing as ominous as the backwoods world of "Winter's Bone." Go to Full Review
Chuck Bowen Slant Magazine 06/30/2011
1/4
Peter Stormare is a limited actor who only manages to exude the resolute nothingness of the role. Go to Full Review
Richard T. Jameson Parallax View 07/12/2011
... the film is only an hour-and-a-quarter long, and that's just as well; spells are hard to sustain. Yet it's big enough. Go to Full Review
Nora Lee Mandel Film-Forward.com 07/01/2011
7/10
Atmospherically steeped in rural noir. . .Stormare's agonized face keeps the focus on more a tormented character study than a mystery. . .greatly heightened by rootsy songs. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Michael R Mar 7 Nifty movie spoiled by the deafening background music, which drowned out much of the dialogue. Had to watch about half on mute with subtitles. Who’s idea was this? Would have been great movie otherwise. See more 02/23/2022 There is some kind of line between Peter Stormare's breakthrough in American film, playing a psycho criminal in the Coen Brothers' small town classic Fargo from 1996, and to Small Town Murder Songs. This is another small town story, Canadian and no comedy, but a crime noir, still with a clear darkness and almost parodic normal small town people going about their business notion, that is fundamental also to Fargo. Most dialogue is taciturn and there's not many too overexposed characters. It's all basically composed and down to earth, quite perfect for an aging actor like Stormare. This time around he even gets to play a cop, and he performs well. The film as a total could have been awesome if it weren't for the occasional lack of intention and slight overacting. Nevertheless, it's different, has a good soundtrack, but is perhaps trying too hard to be poetic about redemption. See more 12/27/2016 A unique little gem. See more 04/16/2014 A solid effort with an exceptional performance from Stormare--Brilliant acting, thoughtful screenplay & an effectively absorbing drama!! See more 01/07/2014 The script is a little undercooked and the acting is serviceable. The real reason to see this is Stromare; he transforms himself, completely realizing his character and gives his best performance since "Fargo." Stromare makes this film with his work. And wow, is it one hell of a performance. I must say, "Small Town Murder Songs" is one of the best titles I have ever seen. See more Frances H 08/30/2013 Although the acting was good, the script was way too slow and the plot simplistic to the point of idiocy, thus making the film way too dull. How it got a 79% I'll never know. See more Read all reviews
Small Town Murder Songs

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Movie Info

Synopsis An ex-lover and her suspicious boyfriend complicate a troubled cop's (Peter Stormare) investigation of his small town's first murder in decades.
Director
Ed Gass-Donnelly
Producer
Ed Gass-Donnelly, Lee Kim
Screenwriter
Ed Gass-Donnelly
Distributor
Monterey Media
Production Co
3 Legged Dog Films, Resolute Films and Entertainment
Rating
R (Language|Disturbing Images|A Scene of Sexuality|Nudity|Some Violence)
Genre
Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 27, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 7, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$30.9K
Runtime
1h 16m
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