filmchaser I can see how some reviewers would find this film lacking because the actors are so gifted, the writing is so efficient, the direction is so on point, that the film is ripe with authenticity and subtlety that lends a bleakness, a starkness, and a stillness that is in such extreme contrast to Walter's need to scream until he can't anymore. I thought the loud volume of the sound track was very clever, because it too was ripe with passion and emotion that was not expressed by the anti-violent Mennonite community, or the culturally stoic Canadian townspeople. I read a couple of reviews that referenced the film's similarity to Fargo, and that thought occurred to me more than once as well while I was enjoying this film. I was impressed with Stormare's total inhabitation of his character Walter and Walter's tormented struggle with his own spiritual turmoil as he lovingly appreciated his new girlfriend's sweetness and goodness, when clearly he was conflicted with remnants of a past relationship that may have been obsessive and dark. The two women are even sharply contrasted as Sandy is blond, like light and goodness, an angel; and Rita is sultry, dark, with hard edges, and a sharp tongue. And Walter's alienation was so palpable throughout the film, as the murder of a young woman is central to the plot, yet with all the sub-plots hinted at, flashbacks to a failed love affair, being outcast from the Mennonite community, and lacking the support from the citizens of the town, yet Walter keeps plodding forward doggedly, duty bound and loyal to doing the right thing while withstanding public criticism, gossip mongering, and a beating. This film has the feel of a movie about small town secrets and prejudices, and how quickly folks take sides, and stack up the opposition against what they fear. I disagree that this film was slow at all, and actually feel like the film was dense with details that I may find in a second viewing. I loved the chapter headings that preceded the rich and pronounced folk music. Looking forward to enjoying the sound track. I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys good independent film making, and good acting.

tflynn-7 This is the absolute worst movie I've ever seen. I kept watching it thinking that it's gotta get better. I held that thought right up to the credits. Don't know where they got the guy who played the police chief, but almost anyone could play his part since his part was mostly sitting quietly and sulking. I'll bet that he didn't say more than 20 words through the whole movie. I don't know why writers think that the brooding, silent type is what people want to see, but as for me, a character like makes me want to slap him and say, "Say something". I've seen some real stinker movies before, but this one takes first place. Just an awful movie!.

classicsoncall 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?

jjedif In spite of some superficial similarities, "Small Town Murder Songs" is not "Fargo" set across the border in Canada, eh, and that might disappoint some American viewers(ya, you betcha).STMS it strives to be a bit more believable, but it's definitely not as thrilling as, say, "Frozen River", which is set on a Native American reservation on the U.S.-Canada border.At 75 minutes, STMS is much shorter than the standard 100-110-minute theatre film. The film is concise and doesn't waste any time or space and it didn't need to be much longer. Still, it would have helped tremendously if director Gass-Donnelly had added five or 10 minutes to explore the influence of Walter's Mennonite upbringing on his pathos. I think a lot of viewers will be confused by this aspect of the film, I know my wife was.I was also dissatisfied with not knowing more about the victim, but maybe that's because in a U.S. film the audience is often spoon-fed and because unlike real life, the relationship between the victim and her killer is not well known (This was not an episode of "Dateline" or "48 Hours Mystery"). STMS is definitely understated and leaves out some things that many U.S. viewers have come to expect. In a word, it's a Canadian film and it doesn't play to the expectations of U.S. viewers.Still, really the only aspect of the film that left me dissatisfied was Walter's ex. While it is completely believable that she leave Walter (he's a messed up dude and it's clear he really shouldn't be a cop anymore), her choice of a new beau is just not believable, even it adds a lot of tension to the plot.