If you’re a fan of The Long Goodbye but wish everything about it was broader and more bland, then Small Town Crime surely is for you!

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 12, 2023

It's the kind of movie that pays heed to the conventions of noir stories while still carving out a space all its own.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 2, 2021

A judicious balance between humour and the deadly narrative propelling the film forward ... ensures that the comedy never cheapens or undermines the storyline's impact.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Mar 25, 2021

As the body count grows, the film becomes considerably darker, resorting to incongruous sequences of violence that simply don't match the bits of humor that pepper the start.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Dec 7, 2020

The movie was written and directed by brothers Ian and Eshom Nelms, who must have thumbed through a few Elmore Leonard paperbacks in their day; their movie offers a similar mix of cagey plotting, easygoing character comedy, and punchy violence.

| Mar 10, 2020

Through it all, Hawkes is a natural, stretching a scumbag grin a country mile, making his otherwise despicable Mike into an endearing and unlikely hero you're happy to goad on; cheap beer, cheaper hookers and all.

| Original Score: A- | Nov 5, 2018

Loaded to the brim with colorful and interesting characters that burst from the page... this is absolutely a crime thriller that could sustain (and would reward) sequels.

| Nov 2, 2018

Its twists and turns toy with your emotions and despite its largely familiar story conventions, it never comes across as predictable.

| Original Score: 8.4/10 | Oct 16, 2018

Small Town Crime is a hard-boiled but forgettable crime film, despite Hawkes' best efforts to make the film more of a character study.

| Original Score: C+ | Aug 14, 2018

A modest film noir clearly in debt of the classic hard-boiled plots of Chandler, Hammett or McCoy. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Apr 17, 2018

Small Town Crime [is] a showcase for the skills of John Hawkes.

| Original Score: 7.5/10 | Apr 5, 2018

You could center the story on any of these people, changing the perspective completely, and it would still be a compelling film

| Mar 8, 2018

Small Town Crime delivers the goods with a layered story, enthralling mystery, classic and evocative but innovative action, and a cast and crew devoted to a singular artistic vision, marking the rise of the Nelms brothers to the big leagues.

| Feb 2, 2018

"Crime" doesn't add up to much, but the journey is better than the destination, with the Nelms offering a mild ride with interesting characters and modest tensions.

| Original Score: B | Jan 25, 2018

Small Town Crime doesn't give us much to hang onto apart from its casting, and from its experiential beer-stained, cigarette-tainted atmosphere.

| Original Score: 6.9/10 | Jan 24, 2018

The one constant is Hawkes, who is so much fun you'd follow him anywhere, even through a flat-footed crime caper riddled with more clichs than bullets.

| Original Score: B- | Jan 24, 2018

The movie's tone never quite gels; it's too outlandish and cartoony to convince, but not so outlandish and cartoony that it takes off into a realm of over-the-top exhilaration.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jan 20, 2018

The best thing about Small Town Crime is the performance by John Hawkes.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 20, 2018

A throwback to ultra-violent crime drama of the 1970s. Great cast headed by lead John Hawkes, producer-costar Octavia Spencer and Anthony Anderson. Should be picked up by Netflix as series.

| Original Score: B plus | Jan 19, 2018

A strong cast is saddled with a formulaic redemption story in this energetic low-budget crime thriller with a mildly amusing throwback vibe.

| Jan 19, 2018