THE STORY: The story goes that some people during dire situations tend to become allies whom they least expect. And this is precisely where we are going to be meeting Don and Phyllis. Don, a hitman working for a mobster is instructed to kill Phyllis, but instead kidnaps her while on a roadstop for a trip that turns out to change everything. On the other hand, Phyllis has quite a different vision and she proposes to Don that they steal money from all the people that would like her dead. That’s how their distorted story starts.
One thing that has created a sense of cohesion among all the movies in this year’s festival, and perhaps rather serendipitously is the focus of a single character through the perspective of another. Across multiple films, we see a recurrent formula two people, whether by coincidence or intentionally, find themselves in the same course of action with different circumstances. Whether they ultimately win or lose is for the audience to conclude, but that precise theme is where the film “Lake George” by Jeffrey Reiner is fitting to be used. The movie is perhaps the best example of what modern noir is all about but more importantly, it gets nearly everything else as right as possible in order to fulfill the main criteria to ensure that the audience has a good time, albeit with some pressure is put on the movie’s main characters.
Let’s delve deeper into Don’s character, an ex-con determined to make a clean start in California, who is portrayed by Shea Whigham. The movie “Lake George” follows his journey. In the absence of instant cash and a place to call home, he decides to go back to the gangsters who had a hand in getting him locked up. Ordinary criminals fit well into this category, but Glenn Fleshler’s character Armen has a debt to settle with Shea Whigham’s Don. However, it does come with a catch, she is quite the talker and he needs Don to murder her so she doesn’t spill anything. A businesswoman’s past might affect Don and Armen, but that’s not how they feel so she’s quite the right piece to end the puzzle. She manages to persuade him to build an empire that kills two birds with one stone, gaining so much money to run away from their old lives and not have to kill Phyllis.
A compelling reason to head out to watch the film is to witness an actor of Whigam’s caliber secure a lead role, which is why I particularly enjoyed ‘Lake George’ as it is also able to do justice to his performance by getting actors well qualified. Don’s assed and raspy persona serves as a perfect antithesis to his criminal accomplice Phyllis. Coon has such an engaging presence that she not only connects well with Whigham but also lifts the overall energy of the film to a commendable point which, at one time, appeared impossible to perfect. This combination is hysterical to the point of delight and feels unnatural because Coon’s impeccable comic timing and over-the-top enthusiasm are juxtaposed against Whigam’s dry demeanor, yet the outcome is quite remarkable even though a good portion of the time they spend together, the types of jokes they indulge in, miss the point completely. Had it not been for these two performers, the other unconvincing parts of the film would have been further accentuated as well.
Currently, Reiner’s vision might be making Whigam and Coon shine from the supporting cast’s side, but aside from them, everything else in this production seems to be unexciting. Funnily enough, the addition of Fleshler into the cast makes “Lake George” resemble a filler episode of “Barry” largely because he reprises the role he played during the first season of the show. However, at the same time, it cannot be denied that while Lake George was made quite cinematographically, it is still deeply television written at the same time. In order to make the transition from the television to the film survivable in the feature it requires cultural shock which is not necessary when the predecessor functioned on a shorter scope. There are some tiny periods every once in a while when everything seems to drag and the storytelling changes into something that resembles 30s classic film noir, with few stylistic features that make those films so much easier on the eyes. The dialogues are scanty mainly because of the franticness attributed to the subject at hand. Still, every now and then some surprising moments happen which are quite enough to help the audience concentrate or re-concentrate on what was going on.
At the start, I could see why the audience would need more than one actor to capture the level of Choon’s character’s portrayal but I must say that the Choon’s character is indeed funny with the aids provided to them. However, both Don and Phyllis don’t feel undercover. This is mostly because too much information is supplied on what Phyllis has for Don and vice versa. He is, after all, more of an actor, even when coming from a certain paradigm the one of having a serious injury due to some of his past activities or simpler when there is a “sustaining” associated with the significant period in his life enlaced with several women. In order to proceed through the story, some of the behaviors suggested by Phylis could be seen, among other things, as a business opportunity. The complication in their relationship seems to be suitable for the film’s framework which appears to offer the directors many ideas they would like to pursue with Phyllis. When they are finally reunited in the movie, they do not leave the room for a long time, with numerous stops. Yet, it does seem that Reiner has greater interests in Don the man’s character.
The editing process for the film was rather simple since the overall architecture was sound. ‘But, as has been the case for some time now, Lake George, I believe, has the potential to decelerate as it progresses to what seems to be a race’s clear-cut finish.’ Undoubtedly, Reiner has satin the concept dry to the maximum, and “Lake George” disappointingly, as expected, is nearing its end. Nonetheless, during Lake George, one cannot say the story is boring. It never attempts to be something it isn’t. It is hilarious to see Don and Phyllis have the most random conversations and go on violent tangents for no reason. There is a wide audience who love Reiner’s latest venture, however, to the contrary, it can be said, that it wouldn’t be that interesting.
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