''Small Town Murder Songs'' is a 2010 Canadian

neo-noir Neo-noir is a film genre that adapts the visual style and themes of 1940s and 1950s American film noir for contemporary audiences, often with more graphic depictions of violence and sexuality. During the late 1970s and the early 1980s, the term ...

crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

directed by

Ed Gass-Donnelly Ed Gass-Donnelly (born August 17, 1977) is a Canadians, Canadian film director, screenwriter and producer. His first full-length film, ''This Beautiful City'', was released in 2008 and nominated for four Genie Award, Genies at the 29th Genie Awar ...

. The film premiered at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

on September 14, 2010. The film is written by Gass-Donnelly, produced by Gass-Donnelly and Lee Kim, and stars

Peter Stormare Rolf Peter Ingvar Stormare (; Birth name, né Storm, 27 August 1953) is a Swedish actor. He played Prince Hamlet, Hamlet for Ingmar Bergman, Gaear Grimsrud in the film ''Fargo (1996 film), Fargo'' (1996) and List of Prison Break characters#John ...

Jill Hennessy Jillian Noel Hennessy (born November 25, 1968) is a Canadian actress and singer. She is best known for her roles on the American television series ''Law & Order'', on which she played prosecutor Claire Kincaid for three seasons, and ''Crossin ...

, and

Martha Plimpton Martha Plimpton (born November 16, 1970) is an American actress and member of the Carradine family. She started her career as a teen actress in film before transitioning to adult roles on stage and screen. She has received several awards includ ...

. ''Small Town Murder Songs'' was shot in Conestogo Lake,

Listowel Listowel ( ; , ) is a heritage market town in County Kerry, Ireland. It is on the River Feale, from the county town, Tralee. The town of Listowel had a population of 4,794 according to the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, the third large ...

Baden, Ontario Baden ( ) is a suburban community and unincorporated place in Wilmot, Ontario, Township of Wilmot, Regional Municipality of Waterloo in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It was named after Baden-Baden, Germany; the approximate population as of 2015, ...

and

Palmerston Palmerston may refer to: People * Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer * Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston ** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman and B ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. The film has been given a limited theatrical release in the United States beginning on May 26, 2011.

Plot

"A modern, gothic tale of crime and redemption about an aging police officer from a small Ontario

Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

town who hides a violent past until a local murder upsets the calm of his newly reformed life." Stephen Holden, writing for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', explained the story:

Cast

as Walter *

as Sam *

Aaron Poole Aaron Poole (born March 17, 1977) is a Canadian actor. Early life Poole grew up in Barrie, Ontario and attended Barrie Central Collegiate. He is a graduate of the Etobicoke School of the Arts and George Brown College. He is of Italian descent. ...

as Jim *

as Rita *

Jackie Burroughs Jacqueline Burroughs (2 February 1939 – 22 September 2010) was a British-born Canadian actress. Burroughs starred in over 100 films and television shows over her career, including ''Heavy Metal (film), Heavy Metal'', ''The Care Bears Movie'', ...

as Olive *

Ari Cohen Ari Cohen (born in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian stage and television actor. He was a cast member of ''My Babysitter's a Vampire''. He is from Winnipeg and attended the University of Manitoba, where he was an alumnus of the Black Hole Theatre ...

as Washington * Stephen Eric McIntyre as Steve * Trent McMullen as Officer Kevin * Alexandria Benoit as Sarah * Amy Rutherford as Ava * Kat Germain as Jenny

Release

Monterey Media Monterey Media Inc. (formerly The Monterey Movie Company) started as a home video company founded in 1982 by Scott Mansfield. It was initially financed by Noel C. Bloom, and the titles were distributed by the Family Home Entertainment subsidiary ...

acquired the United States distribution rights in 2011. The limited United States theatrical release began at the O-Cinema in

Wynwood Wynwood is a neighborhood in Miami, Florida. Wynwood is known for being an entertainment district, with artwork, restaurants, breweries, clothing stores, and dance venues, among other retail options. Formerly an industrial district, the area i ...

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, Florida. Monterey Media release the film on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

in July 2011.

Festivals

''Small Town Murder Songs'' was selected at the following film festivals: * Santa

Catalina Film Festival The Catalina Film Festival is an annual event that takes place at the end of September on Catalina Island, situated in Los Angeles County within the city of Avalon, California. Founded by Festival Director Ron Truppa, Catalina is known as "Hollyw ...

- Winner Best Feature *

Phoenix Film Festival Phoenix Film Festival is a festival that celebrates feature films, documentaries, short films and their creators. Started in 2001, the annual celebration takes place in the city of Phoenix, Arizona. The Festival is run under the umbrella of the 5 ...

- World Cinema Director *

Whistler Film Festival The Whistler Film Festival (WFF) is an annual film festival held in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 2001, the festival is held the first weekend of December and includes juried competitive sections, the Borsos Awards, and the Pand ...

- WINNER Best Actress *

Torino Film Festival The Torino Film Festival (also called the Turin Film Festival, TFF) is an international film festival held annually in Turin, Italy. Held every November, it is the second largest film festival in Italy, following the Venice Film Festival. It was f ...

- WINNER Fipresci Critic’s Prize Best Film *

International Film Festival Rotterdam International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, focused on independent and experimental films. The inaugural festival took place in June 1972, ...

Hamptons International Film Festival The Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) is an international film festival founded in 1992, by Joyce Robinson. The festival has since taken place every year in East Hampton, New York. It is usually an annual five-day event in mid-October ...

Cucalorus Film Festival The Cucalorus Film Festival is a film festival held annually in Wilmington, North Carolina. It is one of the largest film festivals in the U.S. South and recognized as a destination film festival for indie filmmakers. MovieMaker magazine recogni ...

Palm Springs International Film Festival Palm Springs International Film Festival (sometimes stylized shortly as PSIFF) is a film festival held in Palm Springs, California. Originally promoted by Mayor Sonny Bono and then sponsored by Nortel,here for Table of Contents it started in 19 ...

Santa Barbara International Film Festival The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is an eleven-day film festival held in Santa Barbara, California in February annually, since 1986. The festival screens over 200 feature films and shorts from different countries and regions. ...

Cinequest Film Festival The Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival is an annual independent film festival held each March in San Jose, California and Redwood City, California. The international festival combines the cinematic arts with Silicon Valley’s innovation. It ...

Miami International Film Festival The Miami Film Festival, formerly Miami International Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Miami, Florida, each March. Since 2015 the festival also runs a smaller Fall Festival, known as the Miami Film Festival GEMS, which presents ...

Cleveland International Film Festival The Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) is an annual film festival based in Cleveland, Ohio. CIFF is the largest film festival in Ohio and among the longest-running in the United States. The festival is held at Playhouse Square, the lar ...

Vail Film Festival The Vail Film Festival is an independent film festival that has taken place annually in Vail, Colorado since 2004. The 21st annual Vail Film Festival will likely take place in December 7-10 2024. The festival was founded by Sean Cross and Scott C ...

Dallas International Film Festival The Dallas International Film Festival (DIFF) is an annual film festival that takes place in Dallas, Texas. The 2025 edition will be held April 25-May 1, 2025. DIFF 2024 was held April 25-May 1, 2024. DIFF 2023 was held April 28-May 5, 2023. Th ...

* Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival * Reel Dakota Film Society/Film Festival *

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) is a film festival held annually in Seattle, Washington, United States, since 1976. It usually takes place in late May and/or early June. It is one of the largest festivals in the world, and feature ...

Indianapolis International Film Festival Indy Film Fest, formerly known as the Indianapolis International Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Indianapolis, United States. The festival champions films that entertain, challenge, and expand perspectives in Indianapolis and b ...

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film has an approval rating of 79%, based on reviews from 19 critics, with an average score of 6.07/10. On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a score of 66 out of 100, based on reviews from 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Stephen Cole from ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' wrote a positive review, saying, "STMS succeeds as an Ontario Gothic mood piece". Michael Rechtshafen of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' wrote that ''Small Town Murder Songs'' is "An effective ensemble backed by a bracingly haunting soundtrack" after its screening at the

; he also saw similarities with ''Winter's Bone'' and found "much to admire about this carefully drawn but concise character sketch, especially the strong performances and a unique, affectingly ominous score by folk-rock-gospel outfit

Bruce Peninsula The Bruce Peninsula is a peninsula in Ontario, Canada, that divides Georgian Bay of Lake Huron from the lake's main basin. The peninsula extends roughly northwestwards from the rest of Southwestern Ontario, pointing towards Manitoulin Island, wi ...

... The already dense ambience gets progressively heavier as the investigation continues, with Gass-Donnelly keeping a tight grip on the artful compositions. But as strong as those visuals are, what really ends up lingering long after the lights come up, is that

Greek chorus A Greek chorus () in the context of ancient Greek tragedy, comedy, satyr plays, is a homogeneous group of performers, who comment with a collective voice on the action of the scene they appear in, or provide necessary insight into action which ...

of a soundtrack, its fire-and-brimstone, gothic-tinged take on traditional and original

spirituals Spirituals (also known as Negro spirituals, African American spirituals, Black spirituals, or spiritual music) is a genre of Christian music that is associated with African Americans, which merged varied African cultural influences with the exp ...

packing an unsettling, pious punch." Dustin Hucks with

Ain't It Cool News Ain't It Cool News (AICN) is an entertainment news website founded by Harry Knowles and run by his sister Dannie Knowles since September 2017, dedicated to news, rumors, and reviews of upcoming and current films, television, and comic book proj ...

also saw the film at The

and said, "''Small Town Murder Songs'' is definitely a winner in the stable of films showing at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival this year". Holden of the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote that the film "is not really a whodunit but a character study of a man squeezed in a psychological, spiritual and professional vise... ''Small Town Murder Songs'' is compellingly acted from top to bottom. As the raw passions of its hard-bitten characters seep into you, the songs hammer them even more deeply into your consciousness. The film's only flaw — a big one — is its brevity. When it ends after 76 minutes, you are left wishing it had included Walter's back story and had offered a more detailed picture of the town." Shannon from Movie Moxie had wonderful things to say about the film: "The powerful score sets an impressive and all-encompassing atmosphere to the film". Robert Bell from

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

had pleasant things to say about the film, stating that there were "some impressive cinematography and an understanding of tone through stillness and minor stylization make for a pleasant experience aesthetically". Howard Feinstein from ''

Screen Daily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company which also owned '' Broadcast''. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involv ...

'' praised writer/director Gass-Donnelly: "Ed Gass-Donnelly makes appropriate, unpretentiously artful, stylistic choices in this tale of redemption". Alison Willmore of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'', gave the film a grade B, with particular praise for the songs: "Who's responsible for the killing is never much of a mystery in ''Small Town Murder Songs''; there are no dark conspiracies, only dark natures. The tension instead focuses on whether Stormare will be able to rein himself in when the investigation inexorably pulls him toward his old life. Everyone is so restrained, their turmoil buried so deep, that the depth of what they're feeling has to be excavated from what's left unsaid."

Awards

It won Best Feature at the 2011 Santa Catalina Film Festival and won Fipresci Critic’s Prize Best Film at the 2010 Torino International Film Festival.

won Best Actress at the 2010 Whistler International Film Festival for her performance in this film.

won World Cinema Director at the 2011

References

External links

* {{Ed Gass-Donnelly English-language Canadian films Canadian independent films 2010 films 2010 crime drama films 2010 crime thriller films Canadian crime drama films Canadian crime thriller films Mennonitism in Canada Mennonitism in popular culture Films directed by Ed Gass-Donnelly 2010s Canadian films English-language crime drama films English-language crime thriller films