Netflix Original #6 - Shimmer Lake

Shimmer Lake

Director - Oren Uziel

Writer - Oren Uziel

Starring - Benjamin Walker, Rainn Wilson, Adam Pally, Rob Corddry, Ron Livingston, Wyatt Russell, John Michael Higgins, Stephanie Sigman

"If I ate your mommy's breakfast I'd end up a fat fucking bastard like everyone else in this town."

Schurmann Score - 8/10

Fifth Paragraph: In which Kyle concludes his review

Shimmer Lake is a film that is shot and plotted as a crime thriller but acted and written as a comedy. It is a tough dynamic to pull off but it largely succeeds. Anchored by a strong cast and some great use of reverse chronology, Oren Uziel's directorial debut is the best Netflix original movie to date that is sure to reward multiple rewatches.

Fourth Paragraph: In which Kyle explains some of his problems with the film

That is not to say Shimmer Lake is not without problems. Most of the crime thriller aspect of the film isn't compelling at all. Sure, it's a comedy, but remove the humour from Fargo and you are still left with a great film. Remove the humour from Shimmer Lake and you get a mediocre film. Part of this is a tendency to dip into the well of uninspired cliché scenarios. Examples include the judge being blackmailed for having a rent boy, a dimwit getaway driver who is easily distracted by female breasts, and a tragic backstory that obviously comes into play more as the story progresses. The film usually does competent or even great work with these plot points but it is disappointing to see these tired scenarios played out again. Perhaps the worst example of this is, in what is essentially the first scene of the film, Andy hiding in his basement while Zeke is upstairs with his family. Thankfully the film completely overcame the weak opening to build great things.

Third Paragraph: In which Kyle talks about the excellent joke construction in the film

Shimmer Lake takes advantage of its reverse chronological order the most in regards to the construction of jokes and running gags. Yes, it also uses it to conceal a twist like Memento but the way it builds jokes is a marvel. Punchlines are provided before any setup and similarly running gags are paid off before we even know they are runners. There are more traditional joke structures showing the setup and then the payoff but the chronology allows the payoff to come from more unexpected places. Jokes are created out of character introductions and exposition that are delivered well after things are already known. The main conflict of the film, Zeke vs. his sister-in-law's cooking,  delivers what might be the biggest joke of the film during the final day. Throw all that on top of gags and jokes occurring in single scenes and Oren Uziel may have built the best chronologically messed up comedy since Arrested Development season 4.

Second Paragraph: In which Kyle outlines the plot of the film

Shimmer Lake tells the story of a small town bank robbery and it's after effects throughout the course of the week starting on Saturday and working its way backwards to the preceding Tuesday. Using its structure to hide it's mysteries, Shimmer Lake blatantly tells us many of the details of the bank robbery. We know it was committed by Andy Sikes (Wilson) and Ed Burton (Russell) and that chief of police Zeke Sikes (Walker) and his partner, the deputy chief, Reed Ethington (Pally) and merely chasing them down with the assistance of FBI agents Biltmore and Walker (Corddry and Livingston). The twists in the case come from the involvement of the other players, Judge Dawkins (Higgins) and Ed's wife Steph (Sigman). The cast does a great job with the material playing the fine line between serious crime thriller and comic caper with only the occasional misstep. Rainn Wilson is great playing a character outside of his Dwight Schrute box and Corddry and Livingston make perhaps my favourite pair of federal agents since Josh Brolin and Richard Jenkins' DEA agents from Flirting With Disaster. Benjamin Walker does a great job leading the investigation with a level head often playing the straight man but showing flashes of anger that emerge from beneath his even-keeled demeanor on occasion. And of course Adam Pally is fantastic.

First Paragraph: In which Kyle writes a flattering introduction

From the co-writer of 22 Jump Street comes a darkly comedic crime thriller equally indebted to Fargo and Memento, it's the first great Netflix original movie I've seen, Shimmer Lake. I bet you didn't expect that sentence to end that way. Many films and TV series have been influenced by the Coens' stupid criminal masterpiece (including a TV show that is essentially a large collection of Coens references strung together for great critical acclaim) and Christopher Nolan might be the most influential director of the 21st century yet for all the imitators out there rarely do they get anywhere near the same ballpark as the originals. Shimmer Lake, while nowhere near as good as Fargo or Memento, might come the closest.