Small Crimes, the recently released Netflix crime drama starring Game Of Thrones’ Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, might not have been written by A Song of Ice and Fire creator George R.R. Martin, but its certainly a world Martin would be proud of. Set in a nameless mid-Western town, Small Crimes is a world populated with morally bankrupt characters who knock each other off at a pace that would put the Red Wedding to shame. Coster-Waldau plays Joe, an ex-cop recently released from prison, who tries to stay clean for about five minutes after being released.
Image Credit: Netflix
It’s an interesting role for Coster-Waldau, as Joe is a bit more animated than his character on Thrones’, Jaime Lannister. Joe’s energy level borders on the maniacal, but without the genius that typically is the flip side of that coin. Joe is a screw up, and Coster-Waldau does an effective job of pulling this off. And while Jaime Lannister certainly has his fair share of crimes (throwing a child out of a window for starters), Joe puts even Jaime to shame. Joe murders, manipulates others into killing for him, and leaves a general wake of destruction in his path that is pretty startling.
Joe’s only redeeming quality is his desire to do right by his two daughters, whom he is forbidden from seeing. The only time we believe Joe to be truthful, is in this desire to be a part of his daughters’ lives. Joe is desperate to be a part of their lives, and this desperate hope is what fuels Joe’s actions throughout the film. That Joe would be a terrible influence upon the daughters he loves so much is evident to everyone except for himself, but as they say, love is blind. Or self-deluded.
Image Credit: Netflix
Despite lacking a cast of A-List celebrities, Small Crimes boasts a plethora of talent that Coster-Waldau works well off of. Joe’s father, played by Robert Forster is particularly strong in his slow denial of what Joe represents for the future of his grand daughters. Likewise, Gary Cole might be best known to fans as smarmy Bill Lumberg from Office Space, but here plays a morally bankrupt police lieutenant reveling in pushing Joe further and further back into the world of crime Joe halfheartedly desires to leave.
Before its all said and done, we have more than few surprise deaths, and a general air of betrayal that would feel right at home on Game of Thrones. It’s fun to see Coster-Waldau in this kind of role, considering he typically plays Jaime Lannister fairly reserved. Coster-Waldau’s performance is strong enough that it makes you curious as to what other roles the Dannish actor might be capable of playing. This is a small film, but one not to be missed. Marvel at this dark romp through the criminal underbelly of a small town, and enjoy watching Coster-Waldau play in this sandbox. We hope Coster-Waldau has more opportunities like this in the future.
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