Meskada – CATCH IT (B-) Meskada is a complex story of young boy's murder during a burglary in a peaceful town Hilliard. The town' police investigator thinks that men coming out for work from nearby town Casewell may be involved in the burglary and accidental death of a child. His investigation about the murder leaves him trapped between people of two towns. On one side it shows the story of the police investigator and on the other side it shows the story of two young men involved in the burglary. Meskada managed to bag impressive ensemble considering the indie criteria. As the story is complex, the movie did stumbles at the end. Instead of giving a proper ending it leaves an innocent man taking all the blame. The situation was irrational and very harsh considering the scenario. I won't spoil the ending here but the movie is defiantly worth giving time. Jonathan Tucker, Kellan Lutz, Rachel Nichols, Nick Stahl, Grace Gummer and Norman Reedus did a nice job and given the material provided came on screen very natural.
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tariqma200217 August 2015The movie is starting exciting at the beginning .. but the end is non non woven .. Instead of searching for a valuable work ,the staff choose the easy matter Bad end, make the viewer feel as if he has been duped ..
Film parts are not good connected .. You feel when you watch the movie as if some parts are missed or that the filmmaker had forgot something It is clear that the cost of the movie was simple and this led to this mantle workmanship Star of the film is the good actor Nick Stahl , but he was not enough alone to make you satisfied .. The movie was below my expectation level.. The rhythm was slow .. -
jordondave-2808522 May 2023(2008) Meskada MYSTERY/ THRILLER
Written and directed by Josh Sternfeld, straight to rental and as the film called "Meskada"- it's really a name of a town where a particular sheriff works at, his name is Noah Cordin (Nick Stahl) whose been assigned to investigate a murder/ death of an eight year old infant. It is soon found out that the perpetrators lived in Hilliard and that it was only an accident since it was only supposed to be a robbery where they assumed no one was inside. Hilliard also happens to be the town where Noah the sheriff grew up in. Much of the town's residents eventually reject his presence and the negative reputation that evolved within the community since their was supposed to be some employment attraction and the result of this death kind of prevented it from happening. All I can say is that the police not caring about how that last person was killed was totally stupid, and a total contradiction about how the police really operates. It also has some similarities with "Mystic River". -
jerryhall-8900825 May 2019This movie is slow and boring. The acting is even worse. Just horrible!
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gradyharp23 December 2010Threads of the past weave through this interesting film about small town folks and their loyalties to each other when it comes to intervention from the outside - even to the defense of homicide. Josh Sternfeld wrote and directed this little thriller with a small cast of young actors who may just be more noticed after this dramatic effort.
Two boys - Eddie Arlinger (Kellan Lutz) and Shane Loakin (Jonathan Tucker) - drifters who go on the road to rob houses and sell their goods to pawn shops through their relationship with a bar girl (Grace Gummer, another of Meryl Streep's daughters) - accidentally kill a little boy during a robbery in Hilliard. The boy happens to be the son of a Meskada County Commissioner ( Laura Benati). Young small town detective Noah Cordin (Nick Stahl) and his new partner Leslie Spencer (Rachel Nichols) are brought in to solve the crime despite the fact that the town sheriff (Michael Sirow) and cohort (Michael Cerveris) think they can handle the matter themselves: much of the clash is bringing in an outside detective who grew up in a poor small town not far from Hilliard, viewed as interference. The local Bar owner Billy (James McCaffrey) and Shane's brother-in-law Dennis (Norman Reedus) fight to protect Eddie and Shane, but events occur that reveal the true identity of the killer after a showdown between the out of town detective and the townsfolk that come to grips with a situation no one wants to explore.
While the story leaves some gaping holes unresolved, the script does manage to capture the small town loyalties that often avoid reality. Adding the aspect of how the national economy is affecting the livelihood of small town residents heightens the tension. The young cast is very fine, especially the key performance by Jonathan Tucker. Heartthrob Kellan Lutz and Grace Gummer provide the sensual interest and Nick Stahl continues to impress as an actor on the ascent. Newcomer Michael Sirow is an actor to watch as is Grace Gummer. In all this is an entertaining film that has the courage to not 'make nice' the unsettling problems of backwoods small town ethics.
Grady Harp -
the nuances are key of this movie. nuances of feelings, search, truth, love. a small town and its secret. a murder. a mother. a detective. few families. and a business who must save the town. memories of lost time and dimensions of guilty. a film about roots of gestures, skin of expectation and need of sense. ingredients - fear, errors, sins. axis - two young men and their need of escape. a good film in a strange kind. Nick Stahl in an interesting role and a cast without glorious names. a meditation about rules and solutions. and an end as Dostoievsky drop. mercy and wise. image behind ordinary reality. answer for self questions and image of good/bad far from each classical formula.
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bombersflyup20 February 2021Meskada is executed rather amateurishly, with characters not flushed out, but involved.
It had the potential to be endearing, but found it cold and dull. Rachel Nichols is a wonderful actress, but her character's almost non-existent. The ending's incomplete as well. -
cekadah16 February 2014Don't let my title stop you from watching this movie. It's actually a rather gripping and sad story of a murder and the detectives plight in trying to investigate the case.
My problem with the movie is that it gets a bit thin in spots and you might lose interest in just where the story is going. Some of the dialog seems forced as do some of the action scenes.
The strongest part is the town hall meeting with the heated debate and opinions that stir the plot of this story.
Unfortunately the story ends with loose ends and I when it was over my first thought was .. "thats it?". -
Quite frankly, I did not expect much of this film, particularly after I saw a score of 5.0 on IMDb.
Throughout the film you keep asking yourself "where is this going to" and each time, as the film goes on, you get more of a surprise and the tension increases a notch.
Throughout the film I kept thinking "Winter's Bone". This film reminds me a lot of "Winter's Bone", and they were both made in 2010, but at the same time this film is quite different, but still about small town and small community secrets all the same.
The acting is top class, and the direction flawless. No film stars on show but they're not needed - this is top class entertainment from little known actors (not for long) and it is top direction too.
Watch it - you won't regret it. -
Meskada, or Quiet Kill as it was renamed for distribution (a rose by any other name) is a slow burning, blistering small town murder thriller that ratchets up the tension and sneaks up on you as the calamitous events unfolding reach a fever pitch of sickening human mistakes, inevitable depravity and broken, dead end people doing their best with the intellects they've been given, and the not always great life choices they make with them. Nick Stahl nicely underplays the lead investigator of a home invasion that left a little boy murdered, which takes him a few towns over to the other side of the state, namely Meskada County. Jonathan Tucker and Kellan Lutz play the burglars, torn between fear and guilt. Tucker, fantastic as always, relishes in his backwoods deadbeat role, equal parts dumbbell sleaze and ferocious caged animal kamikaze terror. Lutz, who really can't act his way out of his own nut sack, wisely keeps his head down and doesn't shake up the otherwise talented roster too badly. Rachel Nichols plays Stahl's partner with the right gusto. James Mccaffrey, known for voicing Max Payne, is awesome as a bar owner and outspoken town representative whose righteous anger clashes with Stahl's dogged need to uncover the truth at whatever large scale collateral damage. The best performance of the film comes from a brooding, volatile Norman Reedus, playing a jaded, bitter man who is just looking for an event to use as an outlet for a self inflicted downward spiral of depression and anger. Reedus is a ridiculously talented guy and he really gets the chance to shine here, using his narrow eyed, scruffy emotional edge to great advantage. The town is also going through an economic crisis that is only exacerbated by this murder investigation, creating all the more tension for the film to work with. It's sad that nobody checks out these fantastic indie gems that slip under the radar, and this one is especially worth checking out. It's a fiery yet restrained small town murder yarn that plays almost like a Russian tragedy, where even though you know from the gate that it isn't going anywhere nice, it's going to be beautiful to experience. Downbeat films may not make us feel good, but they often change us or let us see a different side of human nature that is very beneficial. This one is a perfect example of that. Dark, dreary and stressful, but with vital signs still kicking at an essential, unavoidable set of flaws in humans that needs to be explored.
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mumlovescrows11 January 2019Although at times, the movie got a little slow, I really enjoyed it. I really liked the story line. All in all, a movie that I will watch again, and try to find for sale to add to my collection. Doesn't hurt that my all time favorite actor is in it. (Norman Reedus)
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jfb33313 July 2013Didn't expect much as I caught Meskada while channel surfing on a rainy Saturday, but it hooked me from the start and I was enormously entertained for 2 hours. Very good hard-boiled detective story. Not a mystery or a whodunit as the story presents both sides simultaneously - the detectives and the criminals. I love stories where the bad guys are three-dimensional and fully developed characters and that was the best part of this film. The ending may be dissatisfying to some, but I loved it. Things are left a little messy, just like real life. Added bonus - the music is great. The subplot of the victim's mother being an influential town council member was brilliant. Perfectly plausible.
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Leprechaun577022 March 2011Good movie, great cast! Easy to watch, very enjoyable. If you are a fan of any of the cast members in this movie then it is a definite must see. Also, this is one of Grace Gummer's, Meryl Streep's daughter, first movies and I am sure we will be seeing many more films from her in years to come. Add in Norman Reedus "Boondock Saints", Rachel Nichols "G.I. Joe" "Criminal Minds", Kellan Lutz "Twilight", Nick Stahl "Terminator 3", and James McCaffrey "Rescue Me" and you have a movie that you will want in your collection for a long time! The movie is set in a small town in the United States and focuses on the struggles and separations of class. When a young boy is found murdered an investigation ensues and things between the townspeople become heated. I think there were some great performances by the actors/ actresses in this movie. The film has some great talent that has been around for awhile and some newer stars that will be around for a long time. Written and directed by Josh Sternfeld "Winter Solstice".
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I found the story compelling and the cast's performance even more so. The grieving mother's displays of emotion feel far more realistic than most I have seen. I loved the setting, beautiful and dirty at the same time; just how a couple of small towns ought to look. I could almost smell the morning dew by the end of the movie or maybe that was the morning dew outside, seeing as it's 3am while I am writing this review. I thought that the director's choice of background music and accompaniments were splendid. Every stroke of the violin, every pluck of the bass, and every sound incorporated into the suspenseful moments of the story were excellently chosen. The entire movie long I was struggling not to yell at the screen, "He did it!", or "If only...". The scared and narcissistic bad guys (respectively) also played their roles well. I never hated either of them until the end. The only thing I didn't like about this film was the ending. I won't give it away, because there is no fixing it without re-shooting the ending of the movie, and I hate it when people post spoilers.
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nogodnomasters15 December 2018Two small town guys (Kellan Lutz,Jonathan Tucker) burglarize a home. A 10 minute job, in and out. After an interesting set of connected credits (metaphor for connecting the dots in a case) we see a young dead boy in the same home, hit by a phone by a burglar. The woman who owns the house is a person of means and influence. Noah Cordin (Nick Stahl) becomes the lead investigator on the case, going through trash cans etc. His new partner is Leslie Spencer (Rachel Nichols) who, in this movie reminds me of Jodi Foster.
Noah finds a clue which takes him back to his own hometown, a small blue collar community. Most of the guys work construction on the road and he wants to talk to them all. And remember, in all Indie films, blue collar workers chew, chop, and slurp their food while they are trying to talk at the same time. Leslie stays in the background while Noah plays hometown boy to infiltrate the group. This works well until county politics gets involved in a way that hampers his investigation.
Good acting. Well scripted. -
ejresendes16 May 2012The reason i give it a 8 is because i liked the movie and i think it is worth watching.. i really like how the ending was, although some people don't like open ended endings but when i watch a movie i want it to be like "real" and life isn't perfect not all things happen like they're supposed to, so watch it! i think you will like it....and if you don't? you can write a review..
I don't want to give the story away but basically a little boy gets murdered. At first, your thinking is it the mother? Is it the father?
The main character is the guy who did terminator 3. Not the young kid..the dude that was cast beside Claire Daines. Yeah him, but he did a good job i thought. A little to laid back at times but i guess thats him. This was a good role, so it didn't matter who played it. His partner was new to me, she kinda looked like a young Jodi Foster, pretty cute, she also did a good job acting. Well, its their job to find suspects in a clueless murder scene, which is a tough task to begin with and with their good wits they get on the right track and begin to figure things out, but you know it ain't easy dealing with small town citizens....especially these...they're town is victim to this bad economy and it seems if they aren't gonna get help they are in no mood to help these pushy detectives.