Small Crimes (2017) Reviews

• A story about second chances and those who (don't) deserve them

  farkaspal2017-05-07

  The background comes in bits and pieces and it takes time to put those pieces together for the viewer, but despite what many other reviews stated, it's a coherent, layered story, and one that leaves you thinking afterwards. Beneath the upper layer, which is a crime story with good number of twists and characters, there is a story about second chances and lost cases, and the invisible line that separates the two. It's also a story about realizing there are things you can not amend, no matter how hard you try. The protagonist did a lot of awful things in the past, he messed up his own life and that of his family on several accounts. He served his time and he just wants a clean slate. Now, the question raised by the movie is if he did change and become a better man, and more importantly, irrespective of becoming a better man or not, does he really have a second chance in life, or it's just a false hope that he can't let go of. We get some hints throughout the film, that despite his doomed situation, he at least tries to do better, but probably not hard enough, and makes the same mistakes he did before he went to jail. His final and biggest tragedy is that he fails to realize that he reached the point where the world would be a better place without him for all those who are (or should be) important for him. Maybe because he just can't let go of his hope for a second chance, even though it's already lost. Well acted and sad movie about a lost case.

• Excellent!

  Tareq92482017-05-01

  Our Hero here isn't a hero but we still like him. a great performance from Nikloaj to bring a complex yet simplified character. However the movie is tonally inconsistent. just when you think we're going in fast pace and more entertaining way the movie pulls back. which is off putting. some character motivations aren't very clear. This movie is smart, good looking, dark and very original. The story is really good and interesting. I was wondering all the time what's going to happen. and the movie was able to still surprise me. If you like original and different movies you should watch this.

• Modern Noir Film for those who 'get' noir stories

  milesarcher-729212017-05-02

  Skimming the previous reviews, it appears a lot of folks aren't 'getting' what noir stories are all about. If you love 'Double Indemnity' or 'The Postman Always Rings Twice', then you should enjoy 'Small Crimes'. If you want your stories straightforward with resolutions that leave you feeling that 'all's right with the world' then this isn't your bag, man; or perhaps not 'your cup of tea', mate. As for execution of the film itself, the director's worked very much in the classic noir style, but with a modern interpretation. There is no rambling around with the story, all the dialogue and early scenes set up the increasingly rapid spiral of destruction. That's what 'noir' is all about, so if you don't get that, you've not seen or read the works that make up this genre...or you just don't like noir. I'd liken it, in a way, to 'Memento', which I loved the first time I saw it, and freely admit I didn't understand a lot of it until the end...and which point all I wanted to do was watch it again to see what I know I'd missed the first time. Small Crimes is that sort of movie, you'll want to watch it again and pick up all the subtle cues you missed the first time around. I found the very end to be perfect, and so subtle you might miss the implications. This isn't some green-screen flick to watch when you're brain dead. It's weird, wild, terrifying, the characters are real people you care about...even the 'bad' guys. I said there are spoilers because I don't want to take the chance someone might think there's one in here. Other reviewers have made the story line fairly clear, so there's no need for me to do that yet again.

• Brutal, twisted

  NateWatchesCoolMovies2017-06-10

  Netflix's Small Crimes is a bitter, barren, gnarled piece of work that leaves an uneasy vacuum in the air as it passes. If you haven't heard of it yet, that's because the platform does almost zero promotion when new content comes off the assembly line, quietly slipping it onto the site without so much as a TV spot. Some are forgettable, and some are gems that could have done with a bit of buildup. This one is like David Mamet, Cormac McCarthy and Elmore Leonard sipping whiskey sours one cold, empty night and brainstorming ideas. I love the time honoured themes presented here, but what I love and admire more is the filmmaker's courage in completely subverting, perverting and putrefying the formula. There's countless films about disgraced cops, criminals or what- have-you who return home to a small town with designs on putting the wrong things right and finding a modicum of redemption. Thing is, in 99.999% of these films, we end up with a happy ending where all the kinks are ironed out and bygones are left as such, a trend which really cripples the stakes and grinds our expectations down with a blunt, predictable Hollywood ending. Not this one. Nikolai Koster-Waldau, aka Jamie Lannister, is a wiry, cracked out ex con who used to be a cop, before he viciously, and I do mean viciously, sliced up the town DA at the behest of a crime kingpin. Moping back into the county following a six year stretch in the pen, it's inevitable that his very presence will stir up a few noxious vibes. Sure enough, he runs into trouble from all angles, including the vengeful DA (", looking like he shaves with a wheat thresher), a scummy corrupt detective (Gary Cole eats up the dialogue like candy), the mobsters he used to be employed by, and even his parents (Robert Forster & Jacki Weaver), who are clearly broken by the past. There's a feeling of inescapable doom, an inevitable choking quicksand that Waldau wades deeper into, his seemingly noble intent on reconnecting with his wife and daughters gradually ground away to reveal the true nature of his path, and it ain't pretty. Gary Cole has a way with words and mannerisms, and he runs away with his bent cop role, stealing scenes like nobody's business. Forster has salt of the earth gravitas in spades, and nails a near career best scene with clear eyed conviction, nailing our attention to his presence. It's not a perfect film though, there's pacing issues, sometimes it gets a little vague or scattered and a romantic subplot involving a nurse (Molly Parker) seems glaringly out of place. Waldau anchors it though, a twitchy, unpredictable ne'er do well who seems cosmically incapable of getting his act together. The ending floored my expectations and remind that there is hope for fresh narratives and abstract thinking amongst writers. You'll come out of this one bruised, but you'll be glad you sat through the beating.

• Lifelike

  rustrotattoo2017-05-10

  I was really surprised to see movie like this done by Netflix, it is noir, it is bare (so You feel what You feel there is no ''correct'' interpretation). Nikolaj gives very realistic performance completely appropriate for story. Reminds of good old European post war dramas somehow.