Amber Lake

Amber Lake is a great movie that will pull you in and keep you wondering what really happened until the very end. I don't want to tell much of the story as you really need to experience it yourself. Once you are done watching the movie, you will still be thinking about it. The three Ambers characters are extremely well portrayed and even though they are 'damaged' people, you will grow more sympathetic toward them as the movie goes on. As each Amber tells her side of the story, the other Ambers' characters appear different; sometimes very different and sometime just subtly. Mekenna Melvin's character had a wide range of emotion from being angry to being caring. Polly Cole's character was shown as homely and broken spirited but wanting to change but just can't. Natalie Smyka's character had a secret inner anger covered up by excessive perkiness (especially in an early scene ;-) ). Timothy V Murphy's Sergeant Stockard character was the investigative police office and very professional although he was a bit distracted by the Amber Allen character. Carmen Argenziano played the stoic, deliberative, A-hole father for whom you feel less sympathetic as the film progressed. All of the folks who worked on this film, in front or behind the camera, did a wonderful job telling this intriguing story. As I said you will think about this movie long after you have watched it.

Amber Lake is a good movie with not the greatest acting.

More story background would have been nice since it seemed a little thin in areas.

I would have liked to know more about the father.

It was somewhat unrealistic how the three sisters bonded so quickly.

The chick with the body of a 10 year old boy was annoying.

There were several slow moments leading up to the reveal.

I did like the twist ending.

Overall it is worth viewing.

Wished it was better because it could have been really good.

Very interesting movie.

I found this movie on Netflix and was surprised that it was decent as I had never heard of it.

Three half-sisters all named Amber are invited to the cottage in Amber Lake by their estranged father who, two days later, is found dead near the lake.

Three Ambers are interviewed separately by the local sheriff. Each one of them tells a different story for what happened.

Not the best acting, slow at times but overall a decent movie.

For a low budget independent film it is a decent film. 6.5/10

I found this movie on Netflix and was surprised at how decent it was as I had never heard of it. After their father, three individual daughters just met is found dead in the lake, the audience is taken through their individual accounts of what led up to the murder. The acting was pretty great considering the actresses were portraying mentally imbalanced people and the camera and direction were noticeably professional. It wasn't a huge production but dialogue, setting, cinematography, acting, etc, writing, was on point. It's a slow paced film but will keep you interested to see how it will end. I would definitely recommend this Independent movie to others to check out if they want to view something good and new. 7/10

Pyschologist Dr Patrick Thomas (Carmen Argenziano) invites his three daughters to his lake house. All three are from different mothers and don't know each other's existence. Patrick left Amber Thomas (Polly Cole) when she was 4 and she's a psychologically damaged writer. Amber Hannold (Mekenna Melvin) is hiding her damage with sarcasm and anger whose crazy mother was Patrick's patient. Amber Allen (Natalie Smyka) is outwardly flamboyant and happy. He uses his skills to diagnose each one's psychological problems and thereby angering all of them. Two days later, he's dead and Sergeant Eugene Stockard (Timothy V. Murphy) investigates. Each sister has a different version of events pointing to another sister as the suspect.

There is some interesting writing from Joe Robert Cole inspired from classics like Rashômon. It's a small budget indie. Everybody does a good job. I do wish for more time with Carmen Argenziano. He is by far the most experienced and most compelling actor. His character is actually the most fascinating. The cop is the weakest. His scenes are the most uninteresting and his character the most problematic. He really contributes nothing and should have limited screen time. The 3 ladies do a good job but I wish they have snappier dialog. I wonder if it would be more compelling if writer Amber is functionally mute. I just think some more directing skills and a more intense Hitchcockian feel is needed.