Betty (Joanne Kelly) and Frank (Neal Huff) live with their two son, Finley (Alex Shaffer) and Sam (Kivlighan de Montebello), in a rural town, and own a business, Freeman’s Farm Supply, selling to small local farmers. Their livelihood gets threatened when a commercial farm supply company, GIGAS, steals away their clients by promising to buy the small farmers' livestock in exchange for installing GIGAS farming supplies. Facing increasing debts and the foreclosure of their home, the Freemans get an opportunity to make some quick cash when a local farmer, Scratch (Tom Bower), approaches them with an offer to pay a hefty sum if they agree to help him illegally dispose expired chemicals. Betty accepts the offer without the approval of her husband. On the one hand, the film explores the issue of the decay of nature, but it's just as much about the decay of human nature.

      Unlike many modern American thrillers, Runoff takes its time to establish atmosphere, and moves along at a slow, natural pace. Writer/director Kimberly Levin deserves kudos for knowing when to trust the audience's patience and intelligence. She keeps exposition to a minimum and humanism/naturalism to a maximum which gives the film very European sensibilities. The quiet moments feel quite powerful as you observe the striking images thanks to the exquisite cinematography. You'll also find an interesting use of symbolism that doesn't hit you over the head. Levin wisely focuses on the details of the Freemans' struggles; there's nothing "Hollywood" about this film at all. Every scene resonates with realism along with an increasing sense of dread.

      Joanne Kelly's rich, convincingly moving performance further enhances the realism, but most importantly help to hook you in emotionally and keep you captivated. Her performance toward the end as the plot veers into quite dark territory is superb---her body language and facial expressions speak volumes louder than words as her character gradually transforms into someone very different than what you might expect from the first few scenes. Everyone in the film is well-cast, even those in smaller roles, so not a single scene rings false. Levin should also be commended for avoiding the use of narration, flashbacks, preachiness, pretension and spoon-feeding the audience. At an ideal running time of 90 minutes, Runoff is an intelligent, sophisticated and mesmerizing slow-burn thriller that's grounded in humanism. Patient viewers will be rewarded the most.