Cut Bank

Dwayne McLaren is a former high-school football star who now works as an auto mechanic in Cut Bank, Montana, a small, cold town where everyone knows everyone. He wants out, hoping to build a life in a bigger city with his girlfriend Cassandra, who dreams of a modeling career, but he lacks the money to make the move. The chance he has been waiting for arrives through a violent crime he happens to witness, and the reward that follows seems to open the door to the future he wants. Instead, his attempt to leave draws him into a police investigation and sets off a chain of events that affects both his own life and the whole town. Liam Hemsworth plays Dwayne, with Teresa Palmer as Cassandra. John Malkovich appears as Sheriff Vogel, a father figure to Dwayne, while Billy Bob Thornton, Bruce Dern and Michael Stuhlbarg round out the cast of thirty-seven credited performers.

Cut Bank was released in 2014 and runs 94 minutes. It is a crime drama with mystery and thriller elements, produced by Kilburn Media on a budget of five million dollars. It was directed by Matt Shakman from a screenplay by Roberto Patino, with Edward Zwick, Dan Cohen and Mickey Barold producing. It stands as the first of the two features Shakman has directed, followed years later by The Fantastic 4: First Steps. Audience responses have been modest: on IMDb it holds 6.1 out of 10 from around 15,000 votes, and on TMDB 5.8 out of 10 from 369 votes. A critics' rating of 4.7 out of 10 from 38 reviews places it below both audience scores.