Lake City

This character driven film will appeal to those who like dramas that focus more on character development than action; although, there are moments of intense action. Sissy Spacek delivers a powerful performance as a mother who has yet to cope with her past. She unexpectedly finds herself reunited with her son who is running away from his troubles and she helps facilitate healing for both of them. I thought the camera-work and lighting played up the natural beauty of the idyllic rural town. The music and some scenes, though, have a made-for-TV (cliched) feel. Rebecca Romijn and Dave Matthews are notable for solid realistic acting. Troy Garity is adequate for the role, but in several scenes he looks like he is doing drama school exercises. I think this may be due more to the first time writer/directors than Garity. They seem conflicted on how to maintain realism vs being sappy. Overall, I think Spacek carries this movie and you develop a genuine bond with the characters.

Lake City is a powerful film, well made, well casted and well scripted. The direction is remarkable and the acting is fabulous. Each actor comes across very natural and the characters are very believable....at many times, it is almost like watching a real life situation. The director's have dealt with the story in a very special manner - delicately maintaining the fine balance between the feelings of love, anger, rage, guilt, and compassion. The mother and son relationship is the best any celluloid has ever been able to portray. Please do not miss this special film - A Must See!! I also had the pleasure of meeting both director's (Perry Moore and Hunter Hill) at the informal q n a at the Quad Cinemas in NY. Getting to know about the budget and time frame of the shoot, it was beyond impressive. I wish both Perry and Hunter my very best and would love to see more films that I am confident will make a difference contributing to GOOD cinema. thanks for a great film.

Lucinda Williams croaks forlornly about a world without tears while sunlight radiantly burnishes the Autumnal hills. Enter Sissy Spacek who portrays a Hallmark heartland matriarch- stoic and strong. Add a son with problems with booze and wild women, a bratty kid, Dave Mathews (of The Dave Mathews Band) as a menacing drug dealer, and combine it all with a very murky and ominous family history. In an attempt to inject a degree of suspense into the narrative, a character in this film asks, "What's in that room?", and the answer is, "We don't go in there". Thus, viewers are guaranteed that a dark and mysterious family secret is about to be dredged up. Seriously, if you want to see how family secrets can be dealt with intelligently, check out, I HAVE LOVED YOU FOR SO LONG. In that film, they do it right. Even if you are a fan of melodrama, LAKE CITY strains too hard for just a few meager emotional revelations

Excellent movie! Sissy Spacek has such a quiet beauty about her! Love the ways she can make you feel her emotions with just a look. Wish she made more movies. This movie was very touching especially the scenes with Sissy and the boy. A great deal of emotion and power dealing with the death of a loved one. Loved the location of the movie and the cinematography. Beautiful landscapes with great small town shots. You could really feel the beauty of belonging to something like this farm and family through the emotions expressed by just a look from Sissy. I thought the whole cast was great. Rebecca Romijn played an excellent part as a small town Sheriff. I highly recommend this movie.

'Lake City' is a film written and directed by Perry Moore and Hunter Hill, about a man named Billy (Troy Garity) running away back to his home down South and his mother Maggie (Sissy Spacek) to escape his drug connections. In tow, he has Clayton (Colin Ford) his girlfriend's son and a large amount of drugs sought by Red (Dave Matthews), a nefarious dealer. Though he does his best to keep his head down and readjust to life in the small town, his old life (and tragedies therein) proves too difficult to shake off, forcing a direct confrontation with both the life he has created (and destroyed) for himself and the life that he was running away from when he left.

Sissy Spacek as Maggie is clearly the rock at the center of the film, around which all other elements orbit and evolve. With each and every glance and turn of her sturdy but weathered face, she conveys the wisdom and strength of the 'people of the land', to spin a tired phrase, and the environment that they live in. Though the film's story ostensibly hinges on the actions taken by Billy, it is Maggie who is the film's heart and soul, personifying all of the conflicted feelings that Billy has about the rather double-edged notion of home, where you can count on everyone knowing who you are, but also on being the same person that you were when they first met you. Maggie's relationship with Billy is a complicated (and frequently tense) one, but as convincing as Garity is as a drug user, it is Spacek who lets us know just where the divide between them lies.

'Lake City' is a very solid film, and I highly recommend it. It may be a little hard to track down(it is available on Netflix), but I suggest you do; you won't be disappointed.