A Wake

Too many characters in this story, distracting from the main drama: the death of a twin, which seems almost an afterthought. Instead of concentrating on that and the relationship of the 2 siblings (and the one's love interest) their family become the relevant focus, which might make sense....but! The problem is that for no particular reason a large amount of time is spent around the little annoying sister; she's not fun, nice, key to the story or the narrative; so is the grandma, a conservative religious woman dressed -why?- for a kinky party. The main characters, the living twin, and the dead-twin-boyfriend, have a limited, fragmented time, where we understand little and wish for much more, to no avail. Even the last scene, at the cemetery, where we expect something to happen, is interrupted after 1 minute by: the grandma, the little horrible sister, the other sister fresh of an intercourse in a car, and her uber-boyfriend. A movie with a great potential, but a poor direction. BRAVO to Noah Urrea for his portrait of Mason, but unfortunately, he cannot alone save the movie. A suggestion: do not use smart kids in films, they are often unbearable. That little girl is the perfect example of what one should never do in a movie. Over the top, and incredibly ANTIPATICO.

Sometimes I wonder how people manage to bring out a movie without anyone saying to them that they have made an awful bad movie. Really everything in this movie is wrong: the directing, the pace, the composition, the sound recording, the script, the dialogues, the 'special' effects, the acting, the timing, the focus on the themes, even the choise of music and the make up And the voice of character Molly sounds so irritating that even my dog went nervous from it.

What a waste of time, probably talent and money.

They should use this movie as a case for students who are learning the art of making a movie to show them them all the possible mistakes they never should make.

A fair portrait of family , together to commemorate the memory of one of its late members. The brother, the sisters, the boyfriend, the stap mother, the grand mother, the pastor and his girl friend and the father.

Secrets and hidden sufferences, attitudes, secrets and options. And, sure, vulnerabilities.

A beautiful film , not only for image or acting but, first, for the problems explored in fair - honest manner. Admirable portrait of Mason , remembering, in some measure, Conrad from Ordinary People by Robert Redford , offered by Noah Urrea , smart craft of tension and beautiful, realistic image of precociious child - Molly - In fact, the realism is the basic source of seduction of this just touching film.

One gets the impression about half way in that this film would make an interesting novel. It fails, however, as a motion picture. The beginning scenes portend a focus on two brothers that merges abruptly into a diffuse family situation with everyone deeply involved in his or her own complicated personality. This is the stuff of a really good read on the beach or cruise ship, not an engaging visual or lively movie or stage play. The theme of death hangs over every character's place in the narrative, like a recurrent suffocating blanket or some other senselessly futile motif. An appearance at one point of a Ouija board lacks the comic response it merits, and is presented seriously. Still, there is merit in some of the performances, and visuals are generally good.

This is definitely not a film for pedants who need everything explained or resolved. I will admit I was somewhat bored in the beginning, but I found myself more and more drawn into the subtle nuances the director captured about prejudices, dysfunctional families, the visceral bond identical twins share, depression, addiction, and ultimately, acceptance.

I thought the actor who played Jameson was absolutely outstanding (and I am a very harsh critic of acting) and I found myself deeply moved by this film that by the end I almost became emotional.

This isn't a perfect film, but if you appreciate subtlety and nuance in cinema, you could do far worse than A Wake.