A Dark Place

2018 1h 29m EN

😐

6.0

MID

★6.0TMDB · 229

ThrillerMystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When a young boy turns up dead in a sleepy Pennsylvania town, a local sanitation truck driver, Donald, plays detective, embarking on a precarious and obsessive investigation to prove the boy was murdered.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Andrew Scott
Donald Devlin
Bronagh Waugh
Donna Reutzel
Denise Gough
Linda Connolly
Michael Rose
Sheriff Benjamin Mooney
Sandra Ellis Lafferty
Betty Devlin
Christa Beth Campbell
Wendy Connelly
Eric Mendenhall
Bill Frankel
Andrew Masset
Dr. Joel Pomorowski

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Simon Fellows
Writers: Brendan Higgins
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

89 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 8 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Simon Fellows, shot by Marcel Zyskind. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Benjamin Talbott. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Chris Dickens shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Andrew Scott and Bronagh Waugh and Denise Gough carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt5936866 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Simon Fellows directs. Marcel Zyskind behind the camera. Benjamin Talbott scores. Chris Dickens cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

189 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Released 8 years ago.
3International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Directed by Simon Fellows, shot by Marcel Zyskind. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Benjamin Talbott. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Chris Dickens shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Andrew Scott and Bronagh Waugh and Denise Gough carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt5936866 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 9 themes, including "child abuse", "pennsylvania, usa", "autism", "investigation".

The technical file

Cinematography: Marcel Zyskind
Original score: Benjamin Talbott
Editing: Chris Dickens
Production design: Erik Rehl
Makeup / hair: Katelyn Barton
Sound: James Hayday
Runtime: 89 min · 1h 29m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: A Dark Place (2018)

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Simon Fellows

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2022-05-15
★ 6/10
Secrets in a former steel town In a small town outside Pittsburgh, an autistic trashman (Andrew Scott) is troubled by the death of a boy that he knew on his route. When he conducts his own guileless investigation it ruffles the feathers of certain people. What are they hiding? Bronagh Waugh plays his coworker, Denise Gough his ex-girlfriend and Michael Rose the Sheriff. "A Dark Place” (2018), originally titled “Steel Country,” is an unhurried drama/mystery that well captures life in an eastern American town. It’s a low-key character study, social commentary and possible murder mystery. "Sling Blade" (1996) is a good comparison, but this is thankfully more succinct. While it’s true that the protagonist’s amateur sleuthing acquires answers too easily, the story chooses to focus on the town atmosphere, the people and their relationships as opposed to excessive details of detective work, which works for me. I was really appreciating this movie until the beginning of the last act when we are asked to buy something radical that Donnie does and, as far as I can tell, totally gets away with since it’s conveniently forgotten. It’s so ridiculous that I was hoping it was just a dream but, no, I guess it really happened. On top of this is the unsavory nature of the root issue and murky insinuations of why it’s condoned. The film runs 1 hour, 28 minutes, and was shot in the area of Griffin, Georgia, which is a half hour drive south of Atlanta and definitely looks like Western Pennsylvania. GRADE: B-

Production companies