Two salient features to consider with the new film Lake George: It triggers the pleasant shock and tingle of having been partly shot in our beloved Goleta, and is a fine, prime example in the neo-noir camp of cinema. And “camp” is an operative word here. Neo-noir is a sub-genre world unto itself, but with self-conscious links to the rich history of post-WWII film noir tradition. Winking or glaring references to that pivotal genre’s history — with its fast, cheap, sometimes out-of-control production and usually wicked qualities — blends with an innate challenge to invent new twists on the theme. Lake George fares very well on that checklist.
In this case, for instance, our glum everyman-gone-awry protagonist, Don (Shea Whigham) cavorts and consorts with Phyllis, a fresh take on a femme fatale (Carrie Coon, magnetic and deadly) — who takes the “fatale” element seriously. When necessary. In a suburban Goletan home, for instance. (Do they allow this kind of carnage in the sleepy Goodland town?) As Phyllis rationalizes, “Shit happens and you have to do things you don’t wanna do. That’s the way the world works.”
Without succumbing to plot spoilage, the narrative in director-writer Jeffrey Reiner’s clever and surprise-pocked tale involves a pernicious mobster (Glenn Fleshler) in a Glendale manse who schemes to have former criminal partner Don shed his nice-guy affability long enough to be a hired killer for a day. At some point, Don’s dilemma echoes Jack Nicholson’s line in Prizzi’s Honor, regarding Kathleen Turner’s character: “Do I marry her, or do I ice her?” In Lake George, what ensues is a ruse of plot and character flips, punctuated by gunplay and Raymond Chandler–esque wordplay.
Lake George is also a road movie, leading our almost-romantic couple up the 101 to a Goleta treasure grab — and a lovely walk on Ellwood Mesa. All roads lead to the titular Lake George, a small remote spot in the Sierras, for a grizzly yet disarmingly bittersweet finale.
The film is a sleeper and an offbeat jewel on its own terms but holds special appeal for those of us who love and live in Santa Barbara County. Lake George is a worthy addition to a growing list of films leaning in the neo-noir direction and shot in the 805, a list lorded over by Ivan Passer’s darkly masterful Cutter’s Way (1980). Our coveted American Riviera landscape has also lent its scenery to the grimy-arty cinematic stuff of Scarface, Alpha Dog, the 1980 version of The Postman Always Rings Twice, and now this film, which both celebrates our pride in Ellwood Mesa and makes us wonder what evil lurks in the ‘burbs of Goleta.
