Steel Country

It is surprising to learn that this is a British made film. Made entirely with UK money, an English director and a couple of Irish actors in the two lead roles. Most impressive given that this passes pretty easily as an American product. It falls into a category of crime/thriller/mystery which there seems to be quite a few of, i.e. one set in a small town in the backwaters of the U.S. where an ordinary individual investigates or is hurled into a crime scenario. Many American independent films have been of this type in recent years and I guess this is one aspect which goes against Steel Country slightly, in that it is an overly familiar set-up. Nevertheless, it remains a good enough film with a very impressive central performance from Andrew Scott in the lead role of a bin man with an Asperger's type of condition, whose particular mind-set impels him to not accept a recent account of a young boy drowning. He suspects foul play and this leads him on a dangerous path with reveals dark secrets in the local town.

The film works more as a mystery than as a thriller; albeit, there are a couple of memorable scenes which fall under the latter bracket, including a surprising one near the finale. But mostly, this one focuses on an amateur sleuth seeking the truth and a town which seems reluctant to reveal all. Ultimately, this is a good, if relatively standard, bit of Americana (even if it is actually British!).