slundy-19788 Maybe unfair to compare Shimmer Lake to the greatness of Memento, but I could not help feeling that this was the inspiring film, so the contrasts become clear.Whereas Memento's backward reveals at each stage were deeply thought-provoking, the reveals of Shimmer Lake were mostly a case of "so what?".Only an idiot could miss the fact that the death of a child was the core theme. The inclusion of all the characters involved in that death and resulting injustice made clear that revenge was the clear motive (not the money). The self-professed oh-so-clean sheriff in a dirty town was a further obvious hook. The final reveal was, accordingly, pretty obvious and disappointing.As a final damning comparison, Memento DVD's had an option to play the movie in chronological sequence, which gave an even darker view of the manipulations and machinations. Watching Shimmer Lake in its correct time sequence would rank it way below an episode of Columbo (famed for telling you the killer from the beginning).Watchable, But Poor.

blanche-2 "Shimmer Lake" is a very enjoyable dark comedy from Netflix.The story of a bank robbery is told backwards. When I started watching it, I thought it looked cheap. I don't think it cost a fortune. It concerns the local sheriff and his attempts to bring three bank robbers to justice - one of whom is his brother. The story goes in reverse day by day as we meet the different participants.I thought the dialogue was funny, the actors were fine, and while it will remind some people of Fargo, it's no Fargo though it is good. And I loved the way it was wrapped up at the end. Clever, funny, Netflix has redeemed itself after that awful thing Handsome.

jtindahouse There are two reasons you might make a film with a non-linear time line. The first is that you have a twist in your film, however the twist doesn't come at the end of your story so you need to make it happen at the end of your story (much like 'Memento' did). The second, and inferior, reason is that your film simply isn't unique enough on its own. 'Shimmer Lake' is a combination of both of these reasons I suspect. There's a twist of sorts which would have come at the beginning of the film and now comes at the end. But what they won't tell you is that by doing this it is also hiding the fact that this is a very run-of-the-mill story line told a thousand times over. I'm sorry, but it really is. There is nothing fresh here in that regard. I feel like there were a lot of missed opportunities in this script as well. It should have been more fun. There should have been more reveals (or at least more important ones). As each day goes by backwards, it feels more like things are simply being confirmed for us, rather than taking us by surprise. There's also a quite bizarre tone to the film. There are a few actors in the cast known primarily for their comedic talents. When they're on screen the whole film feels more like a comedy than anything else. Then when they're not on screen the film decides to take itself very seriously. In that respect the film is an absolute mess that looks like it has been dissected a hundred times over in the editing room. There was an idea here that could have been good, but that was as far as things got. Sadly this is a misfire.

CANpatbuck3664 *Minor Spoilers Ahead* Our story begins during a grey Friday morning in an unnamed mid-west town. Andy Sikes (Rainn Wilson) is hiding in the basement with a big bag. His daughter comes into the laundry room and he's able to convince her to go back upstairs without giving him away. She goes upstairs to have breakfast with her uncle Zeke Sikes (Benjamin Walker) who just happens to be the sheriff and her mom. Andy is able to sneak out and steals his neighbours' car. Zeke has no choice but to continue to work and he picks up his deputy Reed Ethington (Adam Pally). The day continues to unfold, we see the aftermath of this violent bank robbery. But instead of moving to Saturday, we actually rewind to Friday and the story continues to unfold in reverse so we deal with the aftermath first and the movie progresses back to the heist.The story being told in reverse is pretty key to keeping this story interesting. You would think seeing what was going to play out would kill any urgency to the plot but I didn't have that problem. Some would describe this is a gimmick but Shimmer Lake pulls it off pretty well. If you were to tell this story in chronological order, it would be pretty typical friends turn on friends whodunit. The movie wouldn't be awful but I would imagine it would lack the surprise it would need. It gives the movie something to standout from the crowd and it definitely helped keep me interested in what was going on.Once you get past the obvious hook with Shimmer Lake, you're mainly looking at a story of a bank robbery gone bad. We've seen this in other movies but they do enough interesting stuff to keep you guessing. There are a lot of side-plots being interwoven into the main through-line that you don't get an explanation for till you see the end. This is a pretty delicate tightrope to walk but they also pull it off more than they don't.Most heist/crime movies present a flashy atmosphere with an exotic locale, some well trained criminals and an over-the-top villain, that's not the type of movie that Shimmer Lake is. This is a story that takes place in a small mid-western town and the characters are grimy low-level thug types. They aren't bumbling idiots (except for one or two characters) but no one would confuse them for experts or skilled operatives. It makes for a more realistic picture but I doubt you'll come away liking many of these characters. No one seems to operate as morally black or white, they're all shades of grey and that may or may not be your thing.While you would think that this movie would attract some well-known character actors, one of the more bizarre things about Shimmer Lake is who they decided to cast in these roles. The majority of the cast are comedic actors and yet I could only think of a few times where a joke was even attempted let alone when it worked. Although he wasn't the main character, Rainn Wilson was the standout. He's totally stripped of any of his comedic charm and he did a really good job playing a scumbag bank robber. I didn't like Benjamin Walker early in the movie but as the movie plays out, Zeke gets more fleshed out and I thought his performance got better. Stephanie Sigman does a decent job being mousy and laying in wait but her character has a lot more to her than she lets on. Wyatt Russell isn't in the movie very long but he makes the most of his opportunities. In the supporting parts, they cast charismatic comedic actors: Rob Corddry, Ron Livingston, John Michael Higgins and Adam Pally but they give them very little funny stuff to work with. To be fair, they're all fine but it was still confusing why they chose to do that.Shimmer Lake isn't mind-blowing or earth-shattering but I enjoyed it in the end. It milks the telling the story backwards gimmick well and although the cast fills odd roles, they do their jobs effectively. The story also boasts enough twists in the narrative to keep you off base. I won't say this is must see entertainment but this is a solid choice for something to watch on Netflix.