the audience applauded

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

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!.

This is almost an exhibit in acting. Peter Stormare is as great in this as the bit players. There is no weakness to be found in the acting department. The short running time is good too, the music is well selected and the script is as tight as it should be. I personally do not agree as much with Coen comparisons, because this is far more serious than a Fargo.It's important to know, because people will think of Fargo and not of Millers Crossing or other serious themed movies the Coen brothers did. Most of the people that is. All in all it wouldn't do justice to the filmmaker just comparing him to someone else. He did something really amazing here, mixing photography and sound to make a movie about human downfall(s).

Brilliant! The music carried the story to it's rightful destination. A few small town policemen find themselves in the rare predicament of having to solve the murder of a young woman from out of town, probably killed by a community member. The harsh timber, tone and cadence of the music underscores the situational paradox, while the religious score drives the redemption message home.The question is, can these small-town characters hold up without tearing each other apart under this kind of pressure. I'm a small town girl and I had to give 5 points for the very realistic portrayals by these actors of earthy, basically good people, worn but willfully working on combined with Bruce Peninsula's killer musical assist! Aug. 2012

Recommended for watchers that appreciate the fine enactment of a well-crafted screenplay. Direction also very good. All the actors had their moments, and some were indeed memorable: I shall always remember the look between Rita and Steve at the end when Steve is in the back of the police vehicle. Let's just say brilliant acting, direction, and camera-work must culminate to capture something that good. Of course, one will need to watch what comes before to reach that point. The pace of the movie is deliberate, and dialog is often exchanged haltingly, especially from our main man, Walter (Peter Stormare depicts him from the inside out -- excellent all the way through; also loved the lingering accent, which fits Walter perfectly). Music and biblical quotes were a bit jangling, I must agree, as many other reviewers have noted. The quotes were more of a problem than the music for me, because I have a problem with quotes in general. As a viewer, I don't need to be told what a section of movie is going to be about. That's a bit of an insult, in fact. Anyway, take the quotes out and the movie would have been just as watchable from my perspective. Music -- OK, it adds atmosphere, though again I probably would have enjoyed the movie just as much without it. Reminiscent of another Mennonite-centric film I saw directed by Carlos Reygadas in Mexico, Silent Night, though that was brilliant in a very different way.To recap, here, "Small Town Murder Songs" is a title that describes the movie literally; the acting, screenplay, and direction make this a watchable film, especially for the contemplative viewer.