Lake George: Neo-Noir Fun With Surprising Empathy

It was Jean-Luc Godard (or was it Griffith?) who famously said “All you need to make a movie is a girl and a gun”. Film Noir would dispute this, claiming that you need a complicated, down-on-his-luck, dubious yet ultimately morally correct man for the girl to point the gun at. Lake George, the latest film from director Jeffrey Reiner (Friday Night Lights, Fargo, Homeland), develops the trope by presenting a main protagonist and a femme fatale who may have more in common than at first meets the eye.

Don (Shea Whigham) is a middle-aged ex-convict just released from prison and looking to collect money owed to him by local L.A. kingpin Armen (Glen Fleshler). Insulted by the request, Armen instead makes Don a proposal: either Don can kill Armen’s troublesome girlfriend Phyllis (Carrie Coon), or he can be killed himself. Understandably, Don opts for the former option, but when confronted with Phyllis, he realises he is not a killer and cannot do the job. Turning the situation to her advantage, Phyllis proposes that she and Don rob Armen instead and run away. But can Phyllis really be trusted?

Lake George is a neo-noir vision of zen-like genre simplicity. Everything is pared down, to the point, essential. The film is never rushing yet it moves at a very efficient pace, never dragging things out unnecessarily. You’re caught deep in the tangle of the spider’s web of the narrative before you’ve even realised it. While efficiency might be a strange compliment to throw at a film, Lake George benefits enormously from how smartly it moves along, getting you to grips with the characters and their situation with lean narrative muscle.

This simplicity of execution is also reflected in the film’s visuals and direction. It’s clear that the film only received a modest budget, but like the best film noir, it actually works in its favour. Jeffrey Reiner’s direction is never over-fussy or flashy, cutting between shots leisurely and keeping the film grounded with its to-the-point editing. Keeping things grounded cinematographically makes sense, as the narrative is essentially a tale of ordinary people at the edge of desperation getting in over their heads into a dangerous situation. The cinematography matches the groundedness of its protagonists well. It also allows the film to focus on its storytelling, allowing the story and its characters to take centre stage.

Much of Lake George’s ability to entertain comes from the quality of its actors. Carrie Coon is always a reliably great performer, with her turns in The Leftovers being particularly memorable. Here, Coon gives Phyliis a delicate balance of vulnerability and peppy positivity—you want to hug her and throttle her at the same time! It’s that peppiness, found in the direst of situations, that makes Phyllis a joy to watch. More than that though, it’s Phyllis’s sudden outbursts of unexpected and pretty effective violence that give the character an edge and a past: what has Phyllis been through in the past, and how much of what she says is actually true? Coon portrays the ambiguity well, keeping up that peppy facade with just the merest panicked hint that the veil had slipped slightly. It’s a completely compelling performance.

Shea Whigham brings an endearing affability and general gentleness to the role of Don. Without saying much, and with his defeated body language, Whigham successfully convinces us of Don’s basic decentness, likeability, and vulnerability. Beating Don is like beating a small puppy—they both have the kind of sad, hangdog expression that engenders complete sympathy from the audience. Meanwhile, Glen Fletcher uses his terrifyingly imposing bulk to confirm and subvert expectations for his gang boss big nasty, Armen. His mere physical presence is enough to convince Don to kill Phyllis for him, yet there is a surprising moment of tenderness and tears later on that is pleasingly surprising.

With its use of violence, deception and shady narrative twists and turns, Lake George will please any lover of Film Noir and Neo-Noir, whilst its surprising moments of comedy, empathy and calm adds an attractive layer of depth in a way that might not be expected. I strongly recommend a trip to Lake George—just make sure to check for anyone with bad intentions following you who might have been forced into murder…

Lake George will be released at theatres and on digital from December 6th.