Lake George (2024) Review: Jeffrey Reiner Brings Out the Best in Shea Whigham and Carrie Coon in This Darkly Funny Neo-Noir

Neo-noir thrillers are sneakily ascending for a mini-revival this year with notable movies like LaRoy, Texas and Magpie and now, we have Lake George. Writer-director Jeffrey Reiner, who predominantly directed and executive produced television series from The Sentinel to Fargo and Friday Night Lights returns to the feature filmmaking for the first time in nearly 30 years since Small Time back in 1996.

He sure knows his way around the neo-noir genre, beginning with the classic protagonist in his story: A down-on-his-luck former convict named Don (Shea Whigham). He is broke and worn down from the first time we met him in the opening scene. He has a weak arm, prone to panic attacks and just about everything seems hopeless.

That world-weary fatigue both mentally and emotionally can be subtly seen in Whigham’s expression and gestures and this is the actor who typically appeared in supporting or small roles. I’m glad Reiner gives him the opportunity to show up in his rare leading role and as Don, I find myself rooting for his ordeal. His only lifeline would be meeting his former boss Armen (Glenn Fleshler) to get the money that he owes him. Or so he thinks because Armen hesitated unless Don agrees to help him get rid of a woman named Phyllis (Carrie Coon). Well, not like he has a choice anyway because he desperately needs the money, albeit in a reluctant manner.

So, Armen throws him around five thousand to get him started while his right-hand man, Harout (Max Casella) is in charge of giving Don all the essentials: a still-workable 1983 Mercedes 300-diesel wagon, a .45, a phone, zip ties and a pocket knife. Of course, as in the tradition of a neo-noir thriller, things do not go as planned. Don manages to kidnap Phyllis and takes her to a place where he can shoot her except the conscience in him makes it harder to execute the job.

What he does instead is drive her far away but Phyllis suggests a better plan: Steal the money that Armen has stashed somewhere and she knows where they are. Sounds like an easy job but in the unpredictable world of neo-noir, that is more wishful thinking. From the moment Don and Phyllis met before subsequently agreeing to work together to get the money, there’s an immediate spark of chemistry between them. Whigham’s reluctant and occasionally worried Don matches well with Coon’s confident Phyllis and their mismatched personalities are entertaining to watch.

The movie mostly focuses on these two as they journey from one place to another, adding to the element of a road movie genre. We get to learn more about their backgrounds but Reiner doesn’t go overboard into filling us with all the heavy details. The subsequent scenes of them trying to get the money in different places lead to several darkly comic moments — the scene with a bolt cutter comes to mind and the “gun went off” bit immediately reminds me of Pulp Fiction, even though not a direct homage. But the funniest one comes from a scene where Phyllis suggests to Don that she fakes a death.

Extra credits go to Reiner for throwing a twist or two along the way with one of them revolving around a gross misunderstanding. As much as I enjoy Reiner’s assured direction along with the fine ensemble cast not only from Whigham and Coon but also from Fleshler and Casella’s equally solid supporting turns, the movie somehow overstays its welcome in the third act. This is especially true with the aftermath of a scene as Reiner somehow feels the need of humanising his characters to the point it becomes unnecessarily melodramatic.

Still, Lake George remains an above-average effort worth checking out, particularly if you love a neo-noir genre with a touch of dark comedy.