Taglines: Some crimes find their criminals.
Meskada follows a small-town detective named Noah Cordin as he struggles to solve the brutal murder of a boy in the peaceful, affluent town of Hilliard. The killers left behind no clues at the crime scene, with the exception of a scrap of paper leading Cordin back to his hometown of Caswell.
Here, Cordin and county detective Leslie Spencer consult with Cordin’s old friends, all of whom are suffering from the economic troubles that have plunged Caswell into near-destitution. As their search fails to turn up a suspect, feverish tensions rise between the towns of Hilliard and Caswell, until the film reaches its shocking climax.
Meskada captures a snapshot of quintessential American small-town life. The story calls to mind our nation’s history, the brutal clashes over land and territory, the class-divides and the improbable victories for equal opportunity. Meskada portrays a vivid picture of the rift between characters in two towns, people bound by loyalty, family, community, and a battle born of circumstances beyond their control.
Meskada is a 2010 American crime drama written and directed by Josh Sternfeld and starring Nick Stahl and Rachel Nichols as police detectives assigned to investigate a home invasion in which a young boy is murdered in the commission of the crime.
About the Story
Two men Shane Loakin (Jonathan Tucker) and Eddie Arlinger (Kellan Lutz), desperate for money to support their families, break into what they believe to be an unoccupied home in the fictitious midwestern town of Hilliard. They soon panic when they find a young boy home alone. Eddie, in the heat of the panic, strikes the boy as the boy goes towards the phone to call the police. The boy dies.
Detective Noah Cordin (Stahl) is a detective in Hilliard. He and his partner, Leslie Spencer (Nichols) are assigned to the case. Noah believes the crime had to have been committed by two people. He promises the murdered boy’s mother, Allison Connor (Laura Benanti),that he will find her son’s killer(s). Noah is married and has a son of his own so he feels personally compelled to solve the crime.
During the investigation, Noah locates a piece of evidence that links the suspect(s) to a nearby town, Caswell. Caswell is an impoverished town and also Noah’s home town. Both Hilliard and Caswell are in Meskada County
After a cattle call like interview process of virtually the entire town ends with no viable leads, Noah, who it appears has not been back to Caswell in several years, returns to an annual town event as a cover for surreptitiously conducting further investigation. One of the cattle call interviewees is Norman (Dennis Burrows), who is Shane’s brother-in-law, and who knows nothing of Shane’s involvement in the crime. Norman lies to the police about his alibi as he’s having an extra marital affair. The lie throws him under suspicion by Noah who doesn’t know the true reason for the lie. During Noah’s return he questions an intoxicated Shane trying to get him to inform on Norman. Shane tries to assure Noah that Norman was not involved in the crime but Noah is not convinced.
Norman is often out of work and the son (Charlie Tahan) he and Shane’s sister (Rebecca Henderson) share needs a very expensive operation which is one of the reasons Shane resorts to breaking into houses. To complicate matters, it turns out Caswell is applying their commission in Meskada County to agree to allow a pharmaceutical company to take over an old building thus creating hundreds of jobs for the town which has all but gone under.
The victim, it turns out, is the son of a member of the Meskada County Commission. Caswell residents fear the police attention to their town will affect the vote of the Commsion, which it does. Noah is treated as an enemy for continuing to investigate in Caswell. Noah is also receiving pressure in Hilliard. Lily, during a rowdy town hall meeting, publicly accuses him of trying to protect his hometown by stalling her son’s murder investigation
Meskada (2010)
Directed by: Josh Sternfeld
Starring: Nick Stahl, Rachel Nichols, Kellan Lutz, Jonathan Tucker, Grace Gummer, Laura Benanti, Rebecca Henderson, Kerry Bishé, Rebecca Henderson, Charlie Tahan, Max Antisell, Kathy Searle
Screenplay by: Josh Sternfeld
Production Design by: Jack Ryan
Cinematography by: Daniel D. Sariano
Film Editing by: Phyllis Housen
Costume Design by: Amy Lynn Zwart
Set Decoration by: Shawn Annabel
Art Direction by: Lisa Myers
Music by: Lee Curreri, Steve Weisberg
MPAA Rating: R for language, some violence and a scene of sexuality.
Distributed by: Red Flag Releasing
Release Date: December 3, 2010
