A Dark Place

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!).

Obviously, the budget is an important thing to make a good movie, but, as we saw in this movie, it is not a crucial factor to make a good movie. We can see here a small budget movie, but, we can see also an overall good actor's performance, in fact, significant acting for the leading role Andrew Scott, a good direction, a good scenario, a meaningful story. And this is all that the good movie needs.

For a budget film thriller a was surprised how good this was written Andrew Scott played the lead role well just shows you don't need a big name actor too play the role it's a little slow to start off with but be patient by the end you will have enjoyed it...

A boy goes missing in a rural town and the case becomes an obsession for a man who believes there is more to the case than what it appears to be.

I'll give a few more details. Our main character comes off as a decent enough guy but he has some sort of mental disability. He lives with his mother but has a daughter that lives with her mother. While visiting his kid, he learns she is on social media and while scrolling through her news feed, he learns that the boy is missing. The man works in sanitation and knows the boy from his garbage pick-up route because the kid made it a point to always wave when he saw him. While it never really gave a good explanation as to why he was so interested in the case, he becomes obsessed and determined to figure out what happened to the kid.

The main character played his part well, easily drawing the viewer into his character's emotions. The majority of the movie is carried by this character so kudos to the actor for his performance. The atmosphere in this is gloomy and the settings felt appropriate.

While I felt it could've used some more detail here and there, I thought it was a "meh" flick. Not amazing and not awful. If you choose to sit down and watch it just be prepared for the slow burn.

Admittedly it is slow but this 'Donnie' keeps you interested. He's handicapped mentally but smart,intuitive and a loving father. I found the story to be good and slowly opened up for the viewer.