Today’s quick review: Shimmer Lake. Following a bank robbery in a small town, Sheriff Zeke Sikes (Benjamin Walker) is tasked with catching the three perpetrators: Ed Burton (Wyatt Russell), Chris Morrow (Mark Rendall), and Andy Sikes (Riann Wilson), Zeke’s own brother. The investigation leads Zeke to a corrupt judge (John Michael Higgins), a grieving mother (Stephanie Sigman), and a secret from the town’s past long thought buried.
Shimmer Lake is a crime drama and mystery with traces of black comedy and a story that’s told in reverse. The movie begins with Andy fleeing with the money on Friday and works its way backward to Tuesday, the day of the robbery, one day at a time. Each step backwards reveals more of the events following the robbery and makes sense of clues seen earlier in the movie. The result is a fairly credible mystery with a few good twists.
Beyond its unusual style of storytelling, Shimmer Lake is a competently executed crime movie with few outstanding features. The cast fills out the story nicely, though no one steals the show. The mystery is not the most suspenseful or dramatic, but it does have a few layers to it. The humor comes from the mistakes and personality quirks of the characters. The jokes tend to be dry and understated, but they do balance out the darkness of the plot.
Give Shimmer Lake a shot when you’re looking for a neat crime mystery with an unusual gimmick. Shimmer Lake lacks the dramatic punch or the sparkling writing needed to truly capitalize on its premise, but what it has is enough to make it a worthwhile watch. For a more fascinating small-town mystery and black comedy, try Fargo. For a darker investigation, try Insomnia. For an even darker, more violent small-town mystery, try The Hollow Point.
6.2 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.5 to 7.0 for decent execution and a well-structured plot.