User reviews

Dunmore is one of those films that creates mixed feelings. On one hand, it is a cheap film with some amateurish editing, direction and cinematography. The script also has a bad habit of wandering and lacking flow at points. On the other hand, though, it is a thoughtful and terrifying film about a small country town named Dunsmore under the domination of one man: Ronny Roy Pritcher. Played with zeal by W. Earl Brown, the film begins with Ronny's murder.

The story then becomes a whodunit that seeks out motive (pretty much everyone in the town has a reason to kill Ronny) as well as suspects, ultimately very similar to a country town version of the 1974 thriller Murder on the Orient Express. As one character remarks near the beginning, "Dunsmore killed Ronny." And it is true, as this is a film with two main characters: Ronny, and the town of Dunsmore. It is the interactions between Ronny and the group of characters within the town that drive the film from beginning to end.

It is here that both the greatest flaws and assets are shown. Shot almost like a documentary, each person has their own story and their own demons. Everyone is unique and the way their lives intersect with Ronny's lead to an entertaining maze of suspects and stories. However, at a point the gritty film-making becomes too self-aware and the characters begin to become almost comical in their plights. Especially with one part as an old man is chased through rows of crops in the dead of the night, Dunsmore becomes less of a smart thriller and more of a cheesy horror-fest.

That's not to say Brown doesn't give Ronny a presence. When he is on screen, he seizes attention. However, he also gives some depth to the character of Ronny who could have easily become an evil caricature. Although the origins of his cruelty are only hinted at in a ridiculous scene of animal torture, Brown has moments to show off charm and at least demonstrate why some people found more than just hate to aim at Ronny. Ultimately, there is no mistaking that this is a small independent movie about a small country town, but the mix of mystery and drama work together to create quite an engaging experience that satisfies more than it disappoints.

Critic's Conclusion: Overall a dark film showing its independent roots, that's not to say Dunsmore fails to have any emotional wallop or to have anything to say. It is an interesting film that shows the still blooming potential of the talent behind it.

Movies set in small towns in the south tend to have one of two storyline- racial tensions between white and black or a glimpse into the life of the poor town dwellers. "Dunsmore" centered around the murder of a town bully, played wonderfully by W. Earl Brown of Deadwood fame so I gave it a chance. The character he plays, Ronny Roy Pritcher, intimidates his way out of courtrooms and into getting anything he desires, including an underage girl. Within the first few scenes of the movie the audience can see every man, woman and child is afraid of him. However not much is said by the soon to be dead Pritcher so most of the movie relies on flashbacks. After Pritcher dies from multiple gunshot wounds, the press and the Attorney General's office are wondering who to blame.

Walter Taylor( Kadeem Hardison) , an Attorney General office member, is sent to look into the killing and make sure the sheriff is doing his job. His belief he's doing what's best for Pritcher, a man he didn't know, forces him to continue questioning the town to motive. It's evident in his words and actions he doesn't understand the world he's walked into but lets his ideas of justice lead him blindly. All the parts were played to perfection as when we first meet most characters their expressions and attitudes form our opinion of them. With most of the tales of people's relationships with Pritcher told in flashback it got to be a little momentous. Not to mention, after hearing the kind of man Pritcher was, what person would continue to help find him justice? I couldn't fathom it.

Even though I continued watching, I felt no real drive to find out who killed Ronny Pritcher. The stories of his brutality add up until even the viewer is hoping the Attorney General's man returns to the city and leaves things alone. From the beginning it's obvious who shoots Pritcher which left me wondering what the point of the movie was. Did the director intend for it to be a character study of the small town?

To me, this movie was well done but without twists or a shocking end, comes up short. If one wants to watch a bad criminal and bully meet their end then perhaps it is enjoyable. I on the other hand take my murder mystery movies with a little more mystery.

I rented this movie on a whim because I had seen almost everything else at the video store and I was very pleasantly surprised. This is a film of terrific extremes, from very in-your-face violence and language to real moments of subtly. Basically its about a very small town, DUNSMORE, with a really nasty bully, Ronny Pritcher, played by W. Earl Brown from 'Deadwood,' who is gunned down one night on Main Street by unknown killers. It then follows a Citizen Kane – like structure when an investigator, played by Kadeem Hardison, comes to find out what happened. As the investigation proceeds we see that Ronny was really a small town terrorist with a lot of enemies. What makes it particularly interesting is how close to the vest the filmmakers tell it. You have a feeling you know what's going on but nothing is really given away and just when you think you know where it's going it takes you somewhere else. I was also impressed by the acting. W. Earl Brown is every bit as menacing here as he is in Deadwood. Kadeem Hardison is surprisingly credible in a serious role, nothing at all like the Dwayne Wayne character he played on 'A Different World.' Jennetta Arnette, from 'Boys Don't Cry,' is perfect as Ronny's put-upon older wife – he has two of them at he same time – his second, younger wife, played by Alicia Lagano, is one of the least introspective teens I've seen since the movie 'Thirteen,' but then has a great moment of self-realization as she talks about Ronny in death and seems to sense that she has lost more than her husband, but her youth and innocence as well. Talia Shire, from Rocky and The Godfather, plays the local schoolteacher and tells an absolutely chilling story about this bad guy as a child. Barry Corbin gets the good-old-boy-sheriff of the year award as the only person willing to take Ronny on on his own violent terms, and Rus Blackwell, the sleazy cop from 'Monster,' plays the friendly town Sheriff with the same subtly and understatement as a Chris Cooper. It's obvious this film had a modest budget, but neither the production nor the story suffer from it. There is also a lot of dark and sometimes twisted humor. Finally, the one thing that makes this movie stand out for me, unlike other small-town murder mysteries, is that for all it's in-your-face intensity it raises really thoughtful questions about morality, capital punishment, good versus evil and other issues of right and wrong and actually leaves you with something to think about when it's over. I'm still thinking about it days after having seen it. I'd recommend checking it out.

This movie is a heck of a lot of fun!!!

Here's how it breaks down:

The death of a feared and hated man leads to a conspiracy of silence in this drama. Walter Taylor (Kadeem Hardison) is an investigator from the state attorney general's office who is sent to a small Southern town to investigate an unusual murder. Ronny Roy Pritchett (W. Earl Brown) was a town bully who could intimidate just about anyone into giving him what he wanted until he was found outside a local tavern one night with 40 shots in his body and no witnesses who would say they saw or heard the attack. With the help of cheerful but ineffectual Sheriff Miller (Rus Blackwell), Taylor begins questioning citizens about Pritchett, including his two wives (Jeanetta Arnette and Alicia Lagano), who have decidedly different memories of their late husband, and Mildred (Talia Shire), the wife of a local pastor who was murdered a few weeks before Pritchett. In time, Taylor begins to piece together a picture of Pritchett's REIGN OF TERROR in the town, as well as his brutally violent relationship with former Sheriff Breen (Barry Corbin). Directed by Peter Spirer, who previously made several respected documentaries on hip-hop culture, including Beef, Tupac Shakur: Thug Angel -- The Life of an Outlaw, and Rhyme & Reason, Dunsmore rocks out like rockstar!

Bottom line: you'll want more, more, MORE of Dunsmore!

After a violent opening and a setup to let you get to know the characters, the movie keeps building momentum as we realize that nothing is really what it seems to be. In the end it makes you think about right and wrong without preaching at you. I highly recommend it.

This is an awesome film depicting the dark side of life for one small town's citizen. All the characters seem very well done. It seemed that everyone had a motive for the crime that occurred, yet everyone had an alibi. Because it was a quite serious movie, i particularly liked the comic relief of Gilroy (i think was his name). He lightened up some of the situations. You have to wonder was that what he was really like or did he put this act on for the outsiders visiting the town. The bad guy is truly bad and you can see why what happens to him happens. I don't usually like flashbacks, but this film contains good use of them. The sheriff was a good character - his face is familiar, i think i have seen him on TV. Scary (for that town) to think that the film was "based on a true story!" Well done.

Well told story of an interesting event .

No the most cinematically brilliant but one of those small time movies well worth watching.

A brawny, devil-may-care bully named Ronny Roy Pritcher (Earl Brown) terrorizes the residents of the small town of Dunsmore. But very quickly into the plot, the bully gets gunned down outside the local tavern. Enter Walter Taylor (Kadeem Hardison), representative of the State's Attorney General's Office, to try to figure out what happened. Most of the plot centers on Taylor's investigation of the locals: deadbeats, hillbillies, trailer park ladies, and other stereotyped characters.

The script asks viewers to think about a couple of rather weighty issues. Is it right for someone to dispose of a bully when local law enforcement is ineffective? Is it right for a law enforcement outsider to intrude into a small town that seems able to handle its problems on its own?

Aside from the film's thematic value, I just didn't much care for this film. For one thing, the locations are all generic. The town of Dunsmore is not set in any particular state; we never learn what "state" Walter Taylor's Attorney General's Office represents. There's a conspicuous attempt to remove the story from any real location. With such a coy script, the film forgoes a sense of realism.

Further, the script has too many flashbacks. And the TV "news" coverage scenes, and scenes of TV reporters trying to get a story, are super, super annoying. Such a film cliché reeks of lazy scriptwriting. Kadeem Hardison phones in his performance, which is dull and lifeless. On the other hand, Jeannetta Arnette gives a really fine performance as the trailer park wife of Ronny Roy.

Overall, aside from deep themes implied in the story premise, I found this film to be mediocre at best. It gets off to a good start with some atmospheric suspense. But the plot goes nowhere; the ending disappoints, along with other elements. And I could have wished for some other actor to play the role of Walter Taylor.