The Wait

A talented newcomer on the scene has utilized the language of film to demonstrate a sophisticated and engrossing portrait of a family falling into dysfunction, yet struggling to hold themselves together. Unable to deal with the passing of her mother, a young woman named Emma, hears a voice on the phone telling her to wait, "they will return." Of course, this is something that she interprets as a sign that her mother will return from the dead. Why not? It seems perfectly reasonable.

Oddly enough, her sister Angela, incredulous at first, reluctantly goes along with the fantasy. That starts the mystery -- why would two such upper class twits allow themselves to believe in this modern fairy tale? Once you buy the concept, and are willing to suspend your disbelief, you become lulled in by the sumptuous images, the endless wandering through the woods, and odd behavior by otherwise normal people.

The cinematography is outstanding for a low-budget project such as this, with stunning shots of a wildfire (apparently it was shot sometime during a massive fire in Oregon), and the shots of the planes flying over, dropping long clouds of pinkish fire retardant are strangely beautiful.

Chloe Sevigny as Emma performs exactly as expected, she sells the idea wholeheartedly. Jena Malone, as the sister supposedly with her head together, is less believable, but does manage to convey the baffling contrast between someone who doesn't for a moment believe in the idea of resurrection, yet is willing to give in for the sake of keeping her sister happy. She develops an outside interest in a man-boy named Ben, who has a poet's soul, but who cannot seem to penetrate whatever barriers she has constructed (we never find out exactly why).

There are a couple of minor subplots, one of which involves a younger brother and one of the other neighbor boys, but it is given short shrift and then tossed on the back burner, which is a shame, since it would have added some much needed interest outside of the two main characters.

There is also some professional work done by a young girl named Lana Green, who has a small but dynamic role as Emma's daughter, and should be a leading actress in another 10 years.

Overall, a few plot lines get lost, and some of the lines make no sense whatsoever, but the beautiful shots more than make up for the shortcomings.

The writers, director and actors collectively are so far in their heads with in depth 'intellectualism" and over thinking the story that their heads are up their bums and they can't see the trees for the forest. Unfortunately, this descent into mania will suck out and never return 1 hour and 45 minutes of your lifespan. A time which you will deeply regret. You simply want to write letters to all persons involved in the making of this production to rectify the loss of your time and money spent so poorly on this 'creative' endeavor. You will want to ask "And the point was, what exactly?" It's not even a poignant look at the way people react to death. It had that opportunity, but spoiled it with excessive and random acts of silliness, illogical conversations and odd human pairings.

For starters, Sevigny and Malone look more like sisters than many actual sisters, adding more affect than one might expect. The introduction to THE WAIT is great, it's subtle yet captivating and anyone who's gone through the experience of a like death (usually the big "C" involving a parent or grandparent) will immediately pick up on the chilling vibe. From there we begin a trip with the three bereaving children, beautifully encased in a gorgeous Oregon setting that is alternately threatening, benign, active and sterile. Sevigny does her usual wonderful turn, herein as sort of a passive-aggressive sister. Was unfamiliar with Malone, who steals the show. Young brother also engrossing. On one hand, captivating this film is!; i.e., to the point that the viewer (certainly THIS viewer) may become indifferent to whether the major plot item - mom's dead! - is even resolved. On this thought I was almost disappointed at the head scratching, curious attempt at resolution at the very end. Yes there are plot lines and characters aplenty completely untreated when the credits begin to roll. But the virtual submersion into THE WAITS' atmosphere leads me to recommend a watching. PS/The comparison to a David Lynch film; e.g., both the ambiguity and the TWIN PEAKS setting, comes to mind, though those put off by Lynch's strangeness, violence, etc., need not fear herein.

I found this film to be a very compelling work on the process of mourning. Seeing Blash's film 'Lying' after 'The Wait' enriched my understanding of it: 'The Wait' continues his exploration of dramatic themes from 'Lying', in particular about interpersonal faith and trust. Jena Malone's performance is particularly striking – the subtle crumbling of her rationality as she allows herself to fall in love – there is something unbelievable, yet very true about her manic, moment to moment emotional changes. Sure, it's not a perfect film, but it rewards the patience and attention given to it.

9/10

I knew nothing about "The Wait" when I started watching it. Since I knew that it stars Chloë Sevigny, I assumed that I might like it. Boy was I wrong! The movie has NO plot. It claims to be about some young women who keep their mother in the house after she dies, believing that her soul will stay home, but NOTHING happens in the movie. Once again, a movie filmed in Oregon proves to be a complete embarrassment for the Beaver State: "The Postman" and "Men of Honor" are other examples (I never saw either of those but heard that they were terrible). And then there's the musical that they didn't film in Oregon but it takes place in Oregon: "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers". That one has as much to do with Oregon as any Kardashian has to do with talent. When I reviewed in on IMDb, I took the time to mention "Django Unchained", just to trash "7Bf7B".

In conclusion, this is especially an embarrassment for Chloë Sevigny since she's appeared on "Portlandia", a realistic representation of the City of Roses. It's also an embarrassment for Michael O'Keefe (of "Caddyshack" fame). I don't know who M. Blash is, but he's going to have a make a REALLY good movie to make up for this.