Joe Denton leaves prison after six years and returns to the small Midwestern town where he grew up. The former police officer wants to rebuild his life and see his two daughters, but his old crimes pull him back into danger. A corrupt former police superior offers Joe a deal that could repair his family life if he kills a dying crime leader. Joe keeps choosing lies and violence, so the story turns his hoped-for redemption into a bleak, darkly funny crime thriller.
Joe’s parents doubt that he has changed, while his former wife keeps him away from the children. A hospice nurse becomes his new love interest, but she also joins the violence around the dying crime boss. The film follows guilt, addiction, family damage, revenge, and the way small choices grow into deadly acts. Its harsh ending leaves Joe trapped by the damage caused by his own selfish choices.
Community feedback
Was our 4% Woke rating accurate?
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Small Crimes.
Woke representation / casting
Not present. The story centers on a former cop, his family, local criminals, and a hospice nurse. It does not frame race, gender, sexuality, or diversity as a casting message.
0%
Woke political dialogue
Not present. The dialogue deals with prison, crime, addiction, family, and survival. It does not contain recurring modern identity, DEI, or activist ideas.
0%
Identity-driven story themes
Not present. Joe’s relationship with his parents, ex-wife, daughters, and criminal past drives the story. The main themes are guilt, failed redemption, and personal responsibility.
0%
Western institutional / cultural critique
Not present. The movie shows corrupt cops, a corrupt district attorney, a crime boss, and a damaged family. It uses them as parts of a bleak crime plot rather than a modern attack on Western institutions, traditional family life, or social norms.
0%
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. The film adapts David Zeltserman’s crime novel. Available adaptation coverage discusses changes in tone, structure, and Joe’s inner life, but no identity-based change to race, gender, sexuality, or a real figure is documented.
0%
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Not present. The separate X research found no anti-woke reaction, and broader audience and review posts discuss crime, pacing, violence, and performances. No reported complaint says the movie pushes woke, DEI, identity politics, or left-wing messaging.
0%
Creator track record context
The cached scores for E.L. Katz, Macon Blair, and David Zeltserman are 14, 12, and 0, and their work is mainly genre storytelling. The cached scores for Stephanie Wilcox and Sophie Vickers are 44 and 52 because their slates support female-driven, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, or socially relevant stories. Those background signals do not appear in Small Crimes’ crime-focused plot or public framing.
20%
Production
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