A logger, a DNR officer, and a widow's lives intertwine as their small backwoods town deals with the aftermath of a local preacher's mysterious death.
Dave Payton
Bill Childers
Zeb Slone
Churchgoer (uncredited)
Eleanor Brown
Lola Mae Tyson
Cory Kays
Officer Ned Pearson
Adam Dufour
Burl Axsom
David Ross
The Hobo
Angela Duggins
Genevieve Axsom
Michael J. Patterson
Ernie Tyson
Daniel Main
Randall Cunningham
Rachel Casey
Peggy Wheeler
Pete Law
Estel the Storekeeper
John Wisley
Gunther Haltzbog
Jacob Dufour
Harlan
C.J. Swift
Casey
Jackie Davis
Marge Childers
Sophie Davis
Maybelline Childers
Rich Jones
Nester
Grace Rankin
Police Officer
Stuart Schexnayder
Coroner
Director, Writer
Jacob Dufour
Director, Writer
Adam Dufour
February 13, 2023
8
**_The challenge of life “under the sun” in the rural Midwest_**
In the Ohio River region of southern Indiana, three people’s lives intersect after the death of a hypocritical pastor: A hardworking logger from a struggling family, a Department of Natural Resources officer looking for more action and a grieving widow. "Timbertown" (2019) is a psychological crime drama Indie reminiscent of the tone of “Winter’s Bone” (2010), albeit not as dismal due to its inherent spirituality linked to the book of Ecclesiastes. There are even flashes of low-key humor. Similar flicks include "The River King" (2005), "Snow Angels" (2007), "Frozen River" (2008), "The Drowning" (2016) and, in some ways, "Rust Creek" (2018).
Such movies deal with the mundaneness of life in rural areas of the Midwest or Eastern America with usually a crime element; but they all depict the tedium of everyday life and the testing of character in one hardship or another. I point this out because some viewers might not appreciate the realistic, even tedious portrayal of everyday life.
This one’s refreshing because, while it honestly illustrates the challenges of life that we can all relate to—providing for your family, seeking respect or love, the pursuit of meaning, grief, the burden of guilt and need for redemption—it never descends into unrelenting bleakness, like “Winter’s Bone” and bits of “Snow Angels.”
There’s an artistic flashback sequence in the second half that’s done to classical music with no dialogue whatsoever. Although it’s arguably overlong, it’s well done and I didn’t have a problem with it. The sequence is creative and smacks of originality, but I couldn’t help think of bits in “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “Watchmen,” although in those movies the sequences aren’t flashbacks and they’re shorter.
The film runs 1 hours, 30 minutes, and was shot in southern Indiana not too far from the Ohio River and, specifically, Washington County (which is a 20-25 minute drive from Louisville, Kentucky, to the southeast).
GRADE: A-/B+
Status:
Released
Original Language:
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00