LouHomey
From my favorite movies..
Fairaher
The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Aneesa Wardle
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
aquascape
Once in a while a film jumps out that doesn't follow the conventional ways of storytelling and that certainly leads to a peak of interest. "Shimmer Lake" tells a murder mystery in reverse, in the ways Nolan brilliantly told his "Memento" decades ago, however nowhere near as gripping as that."Shimmer Lake" centers on an investigation lead by small-town sheriff Zeke Sikes, played by Benjamin Walker. The clever gimmick of the script is that the narrative is presented backwards, day by day within the time span of a week. While the way it informs the viewers on how the events came to be is interesting in its premise, the screenplay seems muddled and rushed, missing out tiny details or not explaining everything that leads up to the plot.The cast did a great job with an impressive performance by Rainn Wilson in particular. However, I felt like I couldn't connect with any of the characters and didn't find myself wanting them to either succeed or fail in the film.
The film's running time doesn't even pass 90 minutes, this I believe, leading to a hasty narrative, overlooking backstory details."Shimmer Lake" sells itself as an interesting take on a crime mystery film, but ultimately it just isn't that interesting as it was supposed to be.
Hellmant
'SHIMMER LAKE': Four Stars (Out of Five)A crime thriller told in reverse order, about a sheriff investigating a bank robbery involving his brother and two old high school friends. It was written and directed by first time feature filmmaker Oren Uziel (who previously wrote the horror-comedy 'FREAKS OF NATURE', and he also co-wrote '22 JUMP STREET'). The movie stars Benjamin Walker, Rainn Wilson, Stephanie Sigman, Wyatt Russell, Adam Pally, Mark Rendall, John Michael Higgins, Ron Livingston and Rob Corddry. It was released by Netflix through their streaming site, and it's gotten polarized reviews from critics (from the small number that have seen it that is, but some rave about it). I really enjoyed it too. The story is told over the course of one week, in reverse order, starting with Friday. It's about a bank robbery gone wrong, in a small town, being investigated by Sheriff Zeke Sikes (Walker). The robbery was carried out by Zeke's brother Andy (Wilson), and two old high school friends of theirs, Ed Burton (Russell) and Chris Morrow (Rendall). On Friday, Andy is trying to get away with the money from the robbery, while his brother is looking for him. We see Andy's fate, and then we learn what happened to everyone else, and everything that happened leading up to Friday, in reverse daily order. The movie is pretty cleverly written, and acted, and it even has a pretty fun twist at the end. It seems fresh, and pretty original, but if you take away the 'reverse order' storytelling gimmick, it's not really that original or memorable. Still it's highly amusing, and always interesting to watch. It should keep most viewers guessing (until the very end) as well. It did for me, and I definitely recommend it.
folktale
No spoilers here. Like Memento, it's written to be watched twice. The writing is tight and smart, nothing is wasted, though that might not register until the second time through.Both bleak and comic, it is a genuine mystery, in that clues and red herrings are carefully planted throughout, with a big reveal at the end that is genuinely surprising. The storytelling architecture is very satisfying. You are not emotionally invested in any of the characters. This is by design, the structure pretty much guarantees it, and it's a good thing. Though it works backwards, it goes day-by-day, not sequence by sequence, so while you are kept engaged in figuring out what's going on and who's who, it's easy enough keep track, you're never at sea. There's plenty to enjoy the first time through, but much of the early content, and many of the "jokes" -- it's very dark, but they are a kind of jokes-- only hit on second viewing. It's a new kind of thing, straight to streaming, the cinematic equivalent of a straight-to-paperback noir. Made cheaply enough that neither the cinematography nor the acting seek to wow you (though they do get the job done) so it's not like a movie. But it's not like TV either, it's not looking for ratings, it doesn't have to go big-hit-or-die, it doesn't need a sponsor, it can be its own thing, the story they wanted to tell, everything's in there they wanted, nothing is in there they didn't want. I liked it a lot. I probably wouldn't have watched it again, but there were special circumstances, and I'm really glad I did.
CANpatbuck3664
*Minor Spoilers Ahead* Our story begins during a grey Friday morning in an unnamed mid-west town. Andy Sikes (Rainn Wilson) is hiding in the basement with a big bag. His daughter comes into the laundry room and he's able to convince her to go back upstairs without giving him away. She goes upstairs to have breakfast with her uncle Zeke Sikes (Benjamin Walker) who just happens to be the sheriff and her mom. Andy is able to sneak out and steals his neighbours' car. Zeke has no choice but to continue to work and he picks up his deputy Reed Ethington (Adam Pally). The day continues to unfold, we see the aftermath of this violent bank robbery. But instead of moving to Saturday, we actually rewind to Friday and the story continues to unfold in reverse so we deal with the aftermath first and the movie progresses back to the heist.The story being told in reverse is pretty key to keeping this story interesting. You would think seeing what was going to play out would kill any urgency to the plot but I didn't have that problem. Some would describe this is a gimmick but Shimmer Lake pulls it off pretty well. If you were to tell this story in chronological order, it would be pretty typical friends turn on friends whodunit. The movie wouldn't be awful but I would imagine it would lack the surprise it would need. It gives the movie something to standout from the crowd and it definitely helped keep me interested in what was going on.Once you get past the obvious hook with Shimmer Lake, you're mainly looking at a story of a bank robbery gone bad. We've seen this in other movies but they do enough interesting stuff to keep you guessing. There are a lot of side-plots being interwoven into the main through-line that you don't get an explanation for till you see the end. This is a pretty delicate tightrope to walk but they also pull it off more than they don't.Most heist/crime movies present a flashy atmosphere with an exotic locale, some well trained criminals and an over-the-top villain, that's not the type of movie that Shimmer Lake is. This is a story that takes place in a small mid-western town and the characters are grimy low-level thug types. They aren't bumbling idiots (except for one or two characters) but no one would confuse them for experts or skilled operatives. It makes for a more realistic picture but I doubt you'll come away liking many of these characters. No one seems to operate as morally black or white, they're all shades of grey and that may or may not be your thing.While you would think that this movie would attract some well-known character actors, one of the more bizarre things about Shimmer Lake is who they decided to cast in these roles. The majority of the cast are comedic actors and yet I could only think of a few times where a joke was even attempted let alone when it worked. Although he wasn't the main character, Rainn Wilson was the standout. He's totally stripped of any of his comedic charm and he did a really good job playing a scumbag bank robber. I didn't like Benjamin Walker early in the movie but as the movie plays out, Zeke gets more fleshed out and I thought his performance got better. Stephanie Sigman does a decent job being mousy and laying in wait but her character has a lot more to her than she lets on. Wyatt Russell isn't in the movie very long but he makes the most of his opportunities. In the supporting parts, they cast charismatic comedic actors: Rob Corddry, Ron Livingston, John Michael Higgins and Adam Pally but they give them very little funny stuff to work with. To be fair, they're all fine but it was still confusing why they chose to do that.Shimmer Lake isn't mind-blowing or earth-shattering but I enjoyed it in the end. It milks the telling the story backwards gimmick well and although the cast fills odd roles, they do their jobs effectively. The story also boasts enough twists in the narrative to keep you off base. I won't say this is must see entertainment but this is a solid choice for something to watch on Netflix.
