The structure is somewhat novel. All the scenes are in reverse order. It was okay, but, I have no intention of watching it again. I have two main criticisms. It is not as clever as it thinks it is, and I didn't like any of the character, except maybe the lazy FBI agents. The reverse structure is actually quite tedious at the beginning. It takes quite a while to get into and it is definitely not funny enough to be considered a comedy. Overall, I respect that they tried something unusual, but, it did not manage to win me over. Skip it. P.S. I hate that Mexican woman.

Bad casting and bad acting. Plot okay and could have been improved slightly. But it really comes down to a few bad cast members and their inability to act or being typecast as a certain character. Re-shoot the series with the Fargo cast and you'll have a winner. I know it's a short review, but I couldn't make it past the first episode.

There are two reasons you might make a film with a non-linear time line. The first is that you have a twist in your film, however the twist doesn't come at the end of your story so you need to make it happen at the end of your story (much like 'Memento' did). The second, and inferior, reason is that your film simply isn't unique enough on its own. 'Shimmer Lake' is a combination of both of these reasons I suspect. There's a twist of sorts which would have come at the beginning of the film and now comes at the end. But what they won't tell you is that by doing this it is also hiding the fact that this is a very run-of-the-mill story line told a thousand times over. I'm sorry, but it really is. There is nothing fresh here in that regard. I feel like there were a lot of missed opportunities in this script as well. It should have been more fun. There should have been more reveals (or at least more important ones). As each day goes by backwards, it feels more like things are simply being confirmed for us, rather than taking us by surprise. There's also a quite bizarre tone to the film. There are a few actors in the cast known primarily for their comedic talents. When they're on screen the whole film feels more like a comedy than anything else. Then when they're not on screen the film decides to take itself very seriously. In that respect the film is an absolute mess that looks like it has been dissected a hundred times over in the editing room. There was an idea here that could have been good, but that was as far as things got. Sadly this is a misfire.

I'm not sure why this film is considered a crime-drama. It is really a dark comedy and mystery told in reverse chronological order. It's certainly not a serious crime-drama at all. Unlike most comedies of this sort that make local police look like the buffoons and the FBI agents the serious crime fighters. This film spins things around by making the FBI the buffoons. The exception is the sheriff's sidekick who doesn't seem to get a chance to sit shotgun with his partner in the squad car. Almost always relegated to the back seat. I thought it was creative and funny.