Review of Small Town Murder Songs (2010) by Jim H — 17 Jan 2013

A small-town Ontario sheriff in a Mennonite community must confront the demons of his past when his ex-lover's boyfriend is the prime suspect of a murder.

Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal sums up this film perfectly: the film "moves so deliberately, with such confident authority, that every small event takes on cumulative significance." Yes, but the slowness, or in Morgenstern's words, "deliberateness," of the film weighs on its subject. I think it's easy to know that the film knows where it's going, but that doesn't mean that we always do. And the title cards between the film's chapters are wholly unnecessary and do little to advance the plot or clarify the themes.

Peter Stormare is very good, creating a strong character out of subtle moments, and the rest of the cast rides on his coattails.

Overall, this is a good film, but it's pace can easily drag on the impatient viewer.