Generations of mob rule are undone by a standard-issue revenge tale in “ Violent Ends ,” a sparing but basically styleless thriller that chronicles a crime family’s unremarkable infighting in the boondocks of Arkansas’ Ozarks. For his long-in-the-works sophomore feature, writer-director John-Michael Powell maintains a likably low-key interest in the local flavor of his home state, but it’s small potatoes in terms of personality. His self-serious approach proves a terminal match for his crime yarn’s familiar, simplistic plotting.

As suggested by its title, lifted from Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” “Violent Ends” begins with a pair of naive, star-crossed lovers, caught up in a turf war between two households both alike in dignity. Gruff country boy Lucas Frost ( Billy Magnussen )

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