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John is a kindly, well-liked old man in a small rural town. John has just killed a man named Dutch. Dutch had done a lot of bad things to a lot of nice people. Nobody in town would think to implicate John - nobody but Danny, Dutch's violent drunk of a brother. John's nephew Ben arrives from Chicago on an impromptu trip to his hometown as his uncle struggles to evade Danny's growing suspicions and looming threats. In this masterfully acted tale of small-town intrigue, one man's need for revenge may cost many more their lives.
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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.