Parents' Guide to Little Dixie

Although most of this crime drama is so familiar as to be tired, the filmmakers nonetheless take a little extra time to develop a strange, gritty atmosphere that elevates the movie above the average. A series of betrayals and a path to revenge, the story of Little Dixie is, admittedly, nothing new. But even though it starts with two of the most worn-out bits of dialogue in cinema history ("you look like s--t" and "we had a deal"), it's clear that writer-director John Swab is trying something here. He spreads his scenes out so that there's breathing room and characters can interact, discussing more than just plot mechanics. There's a certain 1970s quality to the affair, as evidenced by the movie's tribute to Sam Peckinpah's Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia; it has both ambition to try something new and a sense of fatalism, the suggestion that all this violence can never lead anywhere good. Grillo is fully on board, giving a typical tough-guy performance but adding layers of weariness, perhaps even resignation. Knapp's evil Cuco starts as an over-the-top caricature, but even he turns into something interesting. Little Dixie is brutal, but it refuses to coddle viewers.