Review: Midwest noir 'Goodland' too pulpy for its own good

By Noel Murray

May 9, 2018 11:50 AM PT

First-time feature filmmaker Josh Doke sets his western mystery “Goodland” in a fictionalized version of his own hometown, in a stretch of Kansas so flat that “a man could watch his dog run away for three days.” Though so low-key that it’s downright drowsy, “Goodland” does sport some good, dusty texture, and a genuine appreciation for those who live proudly in the middle of nowhere.

Cinnamon Schultz plays Sheriff Georgette Gaines, a recovering alcoholic who maintains sobriety by focusing on her job, though that veneer of professionalism is threatened when she can’t figure out who killed a drifter on the outskirts of town.

Her chief suspect is Ergo Raines (Matt Weiss), a stranger who claims he’s in Goodland to take pictures of a vanishing America for a book project. That idea alone, condescending as it is, is enough to put him on the sheriff’s bad side. But she’s also sure he’s lying.

Doke’s cast of unknowns has trouble bringing a convoluted plot to life. As it unfolds, “Goodland” stacks up more preposterous B-movie notions than Doke’s thin script can support.

That said, there are moments when the film recalls some of the better low-budget small-town noirs, like “The Phenix City Story” and “One False Move.” This happens on the rare occasions when Doke filters out the pulp and just makes the picture purely about Kansas.

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