Uncle John (2015)

Uncle John is a movie where there is quite a bit of suspense. The suspense is built up by the use of the camera and by the play of assumptions. For example, at the start of the movie, the camera shows that a man is stumbling to the end of a dead-end and he walks into the river whilst another man is following him. The camera does not zoom in on the scab on the back of the victim's head but the second man behind him is carrying a paddle - which looks like the weapon that caused the death of the first man. As the story unfolds the camera focuses on micro dialogues which zooms in on details. For example, when Uncle John goes to the parking space of Dutch's car, his brother is already sitting there - and says something to the effect of: it is known that killers often come back to the place they placed false evidence or where they killed their victims. Dutch's brother then stares at Uncle John. It seemed obvious to me Dutch's brother was aware Uncle John was the killer. The use of the bonfire and the isolation of people in small towns added to the setting.

Veteran character actor John Ashton ("Beverly Hills Cop" I and II, "Gone Baby Gone") is sublime as "Uncle John", a quiet pillar of a small farming community whose residents are blithely unaware how deep his still waters run. Deep and dark.Seems that John has lost someone dear to him. And there are those who will pay for his pain. Dearly.Alex Moffat and the stunning Jenna Lyng (a dead ringer for TV's Lisa Ling) are also quite good here as coworkers/burgeoning lovers Ben and Kate. The young couple have come a callin' on Ben's sweet Uncle John for a brief overnight visit. What they don't know about their kind and gracious host won't hurt these two.Which is certainly a damn sight more than can be said for the poor bastard who dares cross this benevolent, yet unforgiving, curious country gentleman.

John Ashton is one of those supremely gifted character actors that constantly find themselves in movies not quite worthy of their talents. The litmus test is this: Search through Ashton's film resume here on IMDb and find movies you've seen that he's starred in. His wide-eyed, wizened face has been endearing you longer than you may realize (his most famous turn has got to be as Judge Reinhold's gruffly sardonic mentor in "Beverly Hills Cop"). His comedic delivery is often so dry it crackles.This makes him the perfect find for the title role in director Steven Piet's surprisingly engaging, often very funny thriller "Uncle John." The film begins with John hauling away and burning a body in one of his fields on his rural Illinois farm. The victim turns out to be a guy named Dutch who (from the vitriol spouted by almost everyone in the small town) people despised --- and even more so when he found religion and embarked on the not-too-smart idea of going from door to door and "apologizing" for his past sins.Piet and co-writer Erik Crary's script is rather bold in its execution however, because it doesn't just stick with John and his quietly engrossing story. The writers ping-pong constantly to another plot revolving around John's nephew (Alex Moffat) and a co-worker he's tentatively courting (Jenna Lyng) at a small commercial ad agency in Chicago. For a good part of the film, you'll wonder what the hell this plot has to do with the A-story, but after a while you won't care: Moffat and Lyng have such an electric chemistry and their dialogue is so real, so drop-dead funny at times, that it's just a joy to watch (the B-story actually does provide a lot of insight into John's character, though it's not really needed thanks to Ashton's skill).It's one of those two-trains-speeding-down-the-track-rolling-right-for-each-other-type scripts (think "No Country for Old Men," though not on that scale, obviously). And of course there's a time bomb at the collision point, and quite a menacing one, in Ronnie Gene Blevins, who plays the dead guy's angry, redneck, slightly-psychotic younger brother.It all comes together because of Ashton, however. As per usual, he conceals virtually everything he's feeling, but in that cunningly transparent way that lets you into his subconscious --- whether you want to be there or not. He tells you everything you need to know about his life, his dead wife (who Dutch was snaking), and his sense of morality without saying much at all. It's all in that face and those eyes, which have just gotten more expressive with time."Uncle John" also gets the look, feel, and cadence of rural Illinois stunningly right. The diner scenes with John's daily cronies (Don Forsten, Gary Houston, and Matt Kozlowski --- all worth mentioning) are priceless and not just in non-condescending accuracy. They're a wonderful Greek chorus. And Alex Moffat's dry-ice deliveries recall David Spade at his sharpest.It's not a film for the impatient, but there's a mother-lode of riches in that there brush fire.

Life is easy in Smalltown. Meet the guys at the Coffee Shop and shoot the breeze, drive around in the pickup, do a little woodworking in the garage. That's how most of "Uncle John" goes, and it's a tough slog. All the action, such as it is, takes place in the first and last 5 minutes of this indie production, which is billed as a crime/drama/mystery. I would debate the last designation, as there is no mystery; that would indicate tension, action and suspense. Be assured none of these are in evidence.Uncle John has killed the town bully and disposed of his body almost before the opening credits are finished. It is amazing how much time can be frittered away on irrelevant padding; by my watch, almost 100 minutes worth. There is a dead end love story between UJ's nephew and his co-worker/girlfriend, and a great deal of time is spent on the two. Add in the above-mentioned breeze-shooting, driving around and woodworking and you have a 'snoozer', to borrow a phrase.It is a shame, because the picture is handsomely mounted, photography quite good and the acting is especially good, particularly John Ashton in the title role and Ronnie Gene Blevins as the heavy. Blevins' character comes off like Jud Fry in "Oklahoma", truculent and unlikeable. For these reasons I rated it a six, recommending it so you can make up your own mind.The weak link in the production is the plot; Director Steven Piet was unable to holler "Get me rewrite!" as they say in Hollywood legend - he wrote it, too.