In this tale of small town intrigue, an urbanite returns to his quiet hometown on an impromptu trip as his Uncle, widely respected in town, struggles to evade suspicion of a murder.
Similar titles
Reviews
Am i the only one who thinks........Average?
This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.
The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
This is a response to the reviewer who said that the film did a good job depicting rural Illinois. The small town is set in Wisconsin. Uncle John's truck has Wisconsin plates and filming was done in Lodi Wisconsin which is probably a 2 hour 45 minute drive from downtown Chicago.Sauk Prairie Recreation Area is an actual place northwest of Lodi. Devil's Lake is not far from there so there is actual terrain with bluffs similar to the one that Uncle John visits, which is likely the site where Dutch killed John's sister Dede (Ben's mother). We know she fell to her death there and supposedly jumped. The motive for John killing Dutch may very well have been a confession by Dutch that he killed her. There was a comment made in the movie that Dutch had been 'snaking' Dede which suggests that he was pursuing her but that they likely did not have a relationship.Danny telling John that Dutch told him Dede jumped because maybe she was overwhelmed by being a mom may have been a way for Danny to try to get John to reveal something.I don't think it was clear anywhere that John's sister was actually married to Dutch or that he was the father of Ben since it was Uncle John that raised Ben.Agree that the film did a good job depicting a small Wisconsin community.
Maybe it's a good movie maybe it's not. Hard to tell as it has the worst sound editing of any movie ever. When there's dialog you have to crank volume to 11 to hear anything and when there's not, it's so bizarrely loud it actually rattles the windows.Others have noted the 'deliberate', 'slow', 'patient' pace of the movie. Short form, it's boring. Bad writing that can't or won't fill in anything and instead the 'story' relies on the audience to sort of imagine or write their own story and backstory in their heads. And of course long long stretches of sad indie music and tinkling piano keys.Dunno, maybe this blend of art-house indie mumblecore is for some people.
I feel like this was a story that could have used a lot more refining around the edges, as to make the mystery aspect hit a lot harder and to make it more effective. As it is, it's still pretty good. I do admire it's resistance to go for easy, cheap thrills, as overall the film never goes into places that you expect it to go, or to have twists and turns that are the usual for this type of film. The acting is very good I think, all believable in their parts especially the lead actor playing Uncle John. I do think that the film would leave a lot of audiences wanting more, and expecting a lot more out of it. As it is however, I do feel like it leaves a strong enough impact to really be recommended.
Life is easy in Smalltown. Meet the guys at the Coffee Shop and shoot the breeze, drive around in the pickup, do a little woodworking in the garage. That's how most of "Uncle John" goes, and it's a tough slog. All the action, such as it is, takes place in the first and last 5 minutes of this indie production, which is billed as a crime/drama/mystery. I would debate the last designation, as there is no mystery; that would indicate tension, action and suspense. Be assured none of these are in evidence.Uncle John has killed the town bully and disposed of his body almost before the opening credits are finished. It is amazing how much time can be frittered away on irrelevant padding; by my watch, almost 100 minutes worth. There is a dead end love story between UJ's nephew and his co-worker/girlfriend, and a great deal of time is spent on the two. Add in the above-mentioned breeze-shooting, driving around and woodworking and you have a 'snoozer', to borrow a phrase.It is a shame, because the picture is handsomely mounted, photography quite good and the acting is especially good, particularly John Ashton in the title role and Ronnie Gene Blevins as the heavy. Blevins' character comes off like Jud Fry in "Oklahoma", truculent and unlikeable. For these reasons I rated it a six, recommending it so you can make up your own mind.The weak link in the production is the plot; Director Steven Piet was unable to holler "Get me rewrite!" as they say in Hollywood legend - he wrote it, too.