‘Lake George’ Review: Two Fugitives Try Sticking It to the Mob in an Unpredictable Neo-Noir
variety.comDennis Harvey Film Critic With “Lake George,” Jeffrey Reiner makes his first indie feature as writer-director since the 1990s, following a prolific quarter-century helming small-screen projects.
The filmmaker has cited formative viewings of classic film noirs on television as an inspiration, but this twisty tale feels more like the melancholy genre fictions of the late Ross Macdonald — low-key, droll, downbeat yet empathetic tours through labyrinths of disillusioned and corrupted Southern California lives.
While there’s a fair-sized body count here, the path hewn by uneasy allies Shea Whigham and Carrie Coon comes off less as a thriller than a rueful black comedy of errors, with even the most violent characters carrying a certain pathos.
It’s a consistently involving effort that should reward discerning viewers amid the flood of flashier year-end titles. Magnet is releasing to limited U.S.
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