Wake (2003 film)

Wake
Directed byHenry LeRoy Finch
Written byHenry LeRoy Finch
Produced bySusan Landau Finch
Starring
CinematographyPatrick Kelly
Edited byGus Carpenter
Music byChris Anderson
Henry LeRoy Finch
Production
companies
Fictionworks Production
Wildwell Films
Distributed byNewmark/Echelon Entertainment Group
Release dates
  • November 15, 2003 (2003-11-15) (Queens Film Festival)
  • May 28, 2004 (2004-05-28) (U.S.)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Wake is a 2003 American drama film directed by Henry LeRoy Finch, starring Gale Harold, Dihlon McManne, Blake Gibbons and John Winthrop Philbrick.

Cast

  • Gale Harold as Kyle Riven
  • Dihlon McManne as Sebastien Riven
    • Martin Landau as Older Sebastien Riven
  • Blake Gibbons as Raymond Riven
  • John Winthrop Philbrick as Jack Riven
  • Muriel Kenderdine as Mother
  • Dusty Paik as April
  • Rainer Judd as Dusty

Release

The film opened on 28 May 2004.[1]

Reception

Maitland McDonagh of the TV Guide rated the film 3 stars out of 5 and wrote, "Its assets include uniformly strong performances; Gibbons and Harold revel in the showy roles, and get strong support from McManne and Philbrick. Even Paik and Judd invest their one-note roles with surprising vividness. Shooting on digital video, cinematographer Patrick Kelly delivers a vibrantly smeary look that evokes alternately sordid and surreally beautiful flashes of poisonously intoxicated memory."[2] Ronnie Scheib of Variety wrote that "Strong thesping and solid staging, atmospherically accompanied by disorienting, darkly folksy Ramsay Midwood songs make “Wake” surprisingly watchable for a film whose whole raison d’etre appears to be something of a mystery."[3]

Noel Murray of The A.V. Club wrote that the film "looks great and sounds great—apart from what the people in it do and say."[4] Dave Kehr of The New York Times wrote that the film was "instantly forgettable".[5] Chuck Wilson of LA Weekly wrote that "one feels sympathy for the ensemble, which, absent full-bodied characters to inhabit, mug furiously, as if big gestures conjure big themes."[6] Ben Kenigsberg of The Village Voice wrote a negative review of the film.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Kenigsberg, Ben (May 24, 2004). "Tracking Shots". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on June 1, 2004. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  2. ^ McDonagh, Maitland. "As I lay dying". TV Guide. Archived from the original on March 13, 2005. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  3. ^ Scheib, Ronnie (May 28, 2004). "Wake". Variety. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  4. ^ Murray, Noel (May 25, 2004). "Wake". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  5. ^ Kehr, Dave (May 28, 2004). "FILM IN REVIEW; 'Wake'". The New York Times. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  6. ^ Wilson, Chuck. "WAKE". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on April 10, 2005. Retrieved September 1, 2022.