THE STORY – From time to time, extenuating circumstances bring together the unlikeliest of allies. That’s exactly where we find Don and Phyllis. Tasked by mobsters with putting an end to Phyllis’ life, Don is unable to pull the trigger, and instead the two set off on a road trip that evolves into something much more. You see, Phyllis has designs of her own and proposes a little tag team action to Don: combine forces with the aim to steal all the money from the people who want her dead. And so their twisted story begins.
THE CAST – Shea Whigham, Carrie Coon, Glenn Fleshler & Max Casella
THE TEAM – Jeffrey Reiner (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 118 Minutes
After screening an array of films at Tribeca this year, an unintentional commonality between some of these films is the complexity of an individual through another person’s lens. Multiple flicks focus on a pair of characters (whether paired intentionally or incidentally) through the journey they experience together. Whether they change for the better or remain stagnant remains for viewers to decide, but that fitting theme is where a film like Jeffrey Reiner’s “Lake George” comes into the mix. The film is a by-the-books neo-noir, but for the most part, it hits all the right spots to mainly entertain audiences – even if it feels like the film’s leads are doing a bit too much of the heavy lifting.
“Lake George” follows Don (Shea Whigham), a newly released convict ready to make a fresh start for himself in a scenic California locale. With no cash flow and very few options to make a quick buck, Don heads back to the mobsters responsible for getting him locked up in the first place. Career criminal Armen (Glenn Fleshler) is willing to offer to pay Don the money he “owes.” In return, Don will have to kill the mobster’s ex Phyllis (Carrie Coon) before she can speak out on his affairs. Don’s inability to go through with this job due to this being outside of his specific skillet leads to his and Phyllis’s unusual alliance as they look to score big paydays to jump-start their aspiring new beginnings.
The pleasure derived from seeing an actor of Whigam’s caliber get a leading role is worth the price of admission alone. “Lake George” plays well into Whigham’s abilities as a performer, tapping into something in the vein of Edward G. Robinson. Don’s worn-down and dry nature also makes the perfect inverse of his partner in crime, Phyllis. Coon brings a level of energy that not only fuels her dynamic with Whigham but gives the entire film the momentum it desperately needs. Coon’s pitch-perfect comedic timing and off-kilter exuberance, juxtaposed with Whigam’s spot-on straight-man shtick, works magic even if some of the comedic material they’re given doesn’t entirely work. Without these two performers, the film’s cracks would be far more visible.
Reiner’s direction elicits two good leading performances, but everything else surrounding Whigam and Coon’s work here feels pretty standard. Weirdly, “Lake George” comes off like a feature-length episode of “Barry” (this feeling is only bolstered by the presence of Fleshler in the same type of role he plays in that series’ first season). From the shot composition to how the score is incorporated, it’s clear that Reiner’s sensibilities from primarily working television are imprinted all over the DNA of “Lake George.” While it may work far more efficiently in a half-hour episodic format, it doesn’t translate as well for a feature-length film. The occasional lull in its semi-patient storytelling is amusing, harkening to film noirs of the ‘30s – although it doesn’t have the overt stylistic traits that make those films far more visually captivating. The screenplay doesn’t beat around the bush, delivering an incredibly straightforward story, minus the occasional pivot that manages to rope back in viewers’ wandering attention.
While most of the jokes are solidly set up and delivered, it does feel like the actors (especially with Coon’s character) have to work twice as hard to sell the material. As a whole, Don and Phyllis’s characters feel pretty blanketed. Audiences get a solid idea of what makes them operate (mainly due to them outwardly telling each other what they want). Don feels more realized as a character, whether through establishing characteristics such as a distinctive disability tied to his previous actions or a whole storyline dedicated to exploring the relationships of his life before he was imprisoned. Besides financial motivations, Phyllis’s actions can be perceived as happening due to moving the story forward. The film dances around specific ideas they wish to explore with Phyllis as a character but never makes an effort to get there. Once the two get together in the film, they’re never apart for long durations, but it’s clear Reiner has far more investment in Don as a character.
The film’s editing is solid, and it’s paced well. Still, eventually, “Lake George” begins to lose momentum as it reaches its natural conclusion a while before coming to a whimpering end. You can tell Reiner has already stretched the concept for all its worth, and “Lake George” ends on a familiar note. That being said, there’s never a moment when watching Lake George where it isn’t entertaining to some degree. It never strives to become anything it’s not. Seeing Don and Phyllis talk about the most menial things, such as donuts, and engross themselves in carnage-inducing pit stops is amusing. Most will satisfied with Reiner’s latest outing, but it certainly won’t be the most memorable.
