Based on a true incident from about twenty years ago, Dunsmore examines the chemistry in a new-era Southern hamlet where justice is applied by the rule of law instead of the old traditional "community standards" practice, the kind in which the local sheriff might frequently bend the rules in favor of the prevailing values of the populace. That kind of vigilantism often went hand in hand with other forms of corruption, and was the main bulwark against racial equality - no matter what the law said, the powers that be would decide details like who voted and who didn't. Troublemakers might find themselves beaten to a pulp and deposited outside the county line, and really serious offenders such as Dunsmore's Ronny Ray Pritcher might disappear altogether.

When things are run strictly by the rule book, completely unscrupulous thugs like Ronny Roy prosper. Citizens fear for their lives should they complain to the police or testify against him in any way. It's no wonder that he repeatedly gets away with murder.

Writer Michael Andrews shows Ronny Roy gunned down by what seem to be a dozen unidentifiable people in the very first scene. Dunsmore then takes on an investigatory plotline as an outsider (Kadeem Hardison, the only black actor in the film) interviews the locals to find out the secret behind Ronny Roy's killing. Except for the dead man's Baby Doll - like child bride Ruby, the entire town seems to approve of the killing. The stories they tell (handled in effective flashbacks) all depict Ronny Roy as a vicious predator and petty tyrant. Just to keep things clear, Ronny Roy is shown torturing animals as a child. In a more recent episode, he kills a kid's dog over a scratch on the paint job of his fancy truck.

All of this extreme behavior is made credible through the good direction of capable actors. W. Earl Brown is chilling as the massive, loutish Ronny Roy, described by one of his own wives as "The Devil Himself." Second honors go to Jeanetta Arquette as his first wife Irma. The almost ludicrous situation of having one's husband show up with another wife barely older than his oldest daughter ("She'll be able to help out; you'll always be number one") is the most original scene in the show, as Ronny Roy first bullies and then threatens Irma to enforce his new living arrangement. Rus Blackwell's evenhanded Sheriff is split between his higher ethics and the knowledge that simply killing Ronny Roy earlier would have spared the town a lot of grief. It's a feeling that audiences will share.

The more familiar actors Talia Shire and Barry Corbin are compartmentalized in serviceable but predictable roles, and thus have less impact than the relative unknowns. A look at the IMDB shows a substantial number of solid credits for players Jeanetta Arnette, Rus Blackwell and W. Earl Brown in particular.

Director Peter Spirer shows a good touch with the dramatic situations and his montage style of cutting to establish the town and countryside is effective if familiar. The picture ends with a rebirth of a "kinder and gentler" form of vigilantism. But although Dunsmore is ambivalent on the issue it doesn't endorse community lawlessness as do so many American films both regional and mainstream.

Image's disc of Dunsmore is a satisfactory but not outstanding encoding of a movie that was well-shot in 35mm in Florida in 2002. Color is excellent in the non-ehnhanced image but the bit rate isn't quite high enough to keep some small details from fractilizing when the show is displayed on a home theater monitor. On smaller screens the flaws probably won't show, but there are a lot of beautiful forest exteriors, particularly an idyllic scene where Ruby climbs a tree, that suffer. The audio is a mix of dramatic cues and good Country-inflected tunes.

On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor, Dunsmore rates:
Movie: Very Good
Video: Good but marginally so
Sound: Excellent
Supplements: trailer, making of docu
Packaging: Keep case
Reviewed: February 18, 2005