Wake

Dark, intense, brooding, with a little black humour. I liked this for the way it left so many things ambiguous, and didn't feel the need to spell everything out. We get just enough backstory to understand the gist of the brothers' issues with each other and their past. As the audience, we're left to put things together in a way that works for us, which is challenging without being frustrated. The dark underlying tension between the brothers feels menacing, but the dysfunction, shared history, and unresolved issues are universal for anyone with siblings or a family. This is Gale Harold's best non-QAF work. He and Blake Gibbons both shine as two brothers who are polar opposites, or perhaps the complementary yin and yang of this particular unhappy family.

I love a great independent, and I love Hollywood legends. Put them together and I am one happy film-goer. This film had both, the independent feel, and one of Hollywood's most recognizable face: Martin Landau. Instead of getting to heavy, not a bad little movie about the Riven brothers and their multitude of dysfunction. The cast is well ensambled, many faces I recognize from various television and indie works. Gale Harold, whos fans swooned quite loudly during the flick, was a convincing Kyle. Though the character lacked much in the way of bite. Emotionally troubled characters take time to flush out, and the time just wasn't here for a character I believe the writer's falsely made the focus of the story. More interesting and impressive was Blake Gibbons, as a stern (if that's even the right word!) Raymond Riven. Something very dynamic about the way Gibbons handled the various scenes. It's not a sex appeal (though he is quite attractive). It's not intensity (he had it at times). It's just seemed natural. He became Raymond. Just overall impressive. Not a bad flick, but not one I would overly recommend. Some wonderful moments for these actors and not a bad storyline. See it if your a straight girl with Showtime, between the ages of 15 and 50, who thinks Mr. Harold is a cinema star because you can see him naked each week on "Queer As Folk". Otherwise, I have plenty of other independents I can easily recommend if your looking for something worthwhile.

In a dilapidated old farmhouse in Maine an elderly lady lies dying while her solicitous son looks on. He is soon joined by his three brothers and a dark tale of violence and perversion ensues! The house reeks of decay and death and so do the boys as they squabble over missing money, ancient crimes, long hidden secrets. The tensions among them are utterly believable even as every attempt to reach some resolution just unearths another mystery. The viewers' loyalty shifts from one brother to another as each in turn progresses from sympathetic to monstrous; from victim to predator.

The cast is universally excellent and the script and direction would do David Lynch proud! The story is rich enough to reward multiple viewings and is a perfect example of why we need independent productions like this so desperately; it actually makes you think all the way through!

A very dark, haunting movie but excellent acting, especially by Gale Harold and Blake Gibbons. The four brothers in this dysfunctional family collide by circumstance and the story's spiral downward flow is brilliantly brought about by the superb acting. Lavish sets and locations are not necessary and not missed as the whole pivotal story centres around the childhood home of Jack, Kyle, Sebastian and Raymond. The story is told by the older Sebastian, as portrayed by Martin Landau. A must-see for Gale Harold fans. My mind definitely didn't wander off throughout the whole movie. The range of emotions portrayed is riveting and the actors must have gone home drained. Excellent music score and directing.

The reason I went to see Wake was because of Gale Harold, who gives a superbly credible performance here as Kyle, one of the four Riven brothers who reunite for one long night of insane plotting and torturous reminiscing, culminating in disaster (as these nights always do). What sets this film apart from other dysfunctional family reunion rehashes is how realistic it feels -- you genuinely get the sense that these four wrecks actually share history, which is very hard to depict - most writers wind up over-stating the facts to let the audience in on it, but first-time screenwriter Henry LeRoy Finch manages to convey their shared anguish without doing this -- he tells us just enough, relying on mood and the actions of the characters to fill in the rest.