Small Town Crime

On the edge of a quiet Midwestern town, a damaged former police officer named Mike Kendall fights through a bottle soaked haze. He stumbles upon a woman left for dead by the roadside and sees a chance to rewrite a broken life by chasing the truth. He becomes a makeshift private investigator, digging through danger and old wounds to discover who abandoned her and why the crime happened in a town you think you know. As he presses on, he must reckon with his own flaws and the murky boundaries between justice and vengeance, while the community closes ranks and the pressure to bury the case grows stronger. The city grows tense, rumors swirl, and trust begins to crack slowly.

Released in 2018, Small Town Crime was directed by Eshom Nelms and Ian Nelms. The thriller features John Hawkes in the lead with Octavia Spencer, Anthony Anderson, Robert Forster and Clifton Collins Jr in supporting roles.

Despite its strong cast, Small Town Crime remains an under radar entry in indie crime pile. It generated chatter among fans of Hawkes and Forster, with praise for performances but little in the way of iconic scenes or quotes that linger in pop culture, and critics praise ensemble performance, anyway.

Critics offered a mixed take, with the film earning a mid range score from audiences and noting the bleak mood and hard edged ethics at play. Core themes center on redemption, accountability, and the way trauma reshapes a small town's sense of justice. Overall it trades on restraint and grit.

Box office data for Small Town Crime is not publicly available. No reliable box office figures exist in standard trade sources. Its independent release limits box office reporting.