CUT BANK

Dwayne and his girlfriend Cassandra dream of escaping from Cut Bank, Montana, which prides itself on being the coldest little town in the Union. One night, while he’s shooting an amateur video with Cassandra, he accidentally films the murder on mailman Georgie Wits. He immediately shows the footage to Mister Steeley, his boss and Cassandra’s father. Steely contacts Sheriff Vogel, the spineless pussy who’s supposed to uphold the law in Cut Bank. Dwayne is already looking forward to the huge reward that should be coming his way by reporting the death of a pillar of the community. But not everybody is as guilty, innocent or even as dead as they seem to be. Where’s the parcel that Georgie was supposed to deliver to local recluse Derby Milton. And why is he capable of anything to get his hands on it?

Director Matt Shakman has a lot of television experience, having directed episodes of hit series such as Ugly Betty, Dr. House and especially Fargo, the successful adaptation of the classic by the Coen brothers. It’s no wonder then that his feature debut threads a fine line between thriller and dark comedy, with a dose of David Lynch added to the mix. The story is terrific, thanks to the solid script by Robert Patino (The Black List). The music is courtesy of multi-awarded composer James Newton Howard (The Bourne Legacy, The Hunger Games) and the cast is downright impressive: Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games), Teresa Palmer (Warm Bodies), Bruce Dern (Nebraska), Billy Bob Thornton (Armageddon) and John Malkovich (Burn After Reading).