[yasr_overall_rating]
“Lake” is a psycho thriller about a chain-smoking loner, George, who lives out in the woods near a small lake. Haunted by his son’s death twenty years ago, he still waits for him to come back – right at the spot where he died.
You probably know William Kircher as Bifur in “The Hobbit” trilogy but because he and many of his co-stars were under so much make-up, it was not always easy to see and feel the performances they bestowed upon us. In “Lake,” Mr. Kircher wears no make-up and he absolutely owns the film, from beginning to end.
He plays the part of George, a loner who lives by himself in the woods which overlooks a beautiful but inauspicious lake. Through a series of flashbacks, we discover that his son, Chuck (David Snyder), died there twenty years earlier and he blames himself for the tragic consequences that took his life. While taking his young granddaughter Ray (Molly DiTeresi) out to the lake one afternoon, she begins to recount the events that occurred with George and Chuck all those years ago and he is dumbfounded as he told nobody exactly what happened. As far as the world is concerned, Chuck mysteriously disappeared and his body was never found but just as George wakes up every morning, in the hopes that Chuck’s spirit will find him, his wish comes true and both father and son have one final confrontation, and we uncover the truth behind Chuck’s death, and the guilt and shame George has carried with him all these years.
Director Simon Steuri skillfully crams an entire feature-length narrative into a 12-minute short and does so with great aplomb. While David Snyder and Molly DiTeresi are fine in their respective roles, this movie belongs squarely to William Kircher. When the final act reveals the dark secret George has been carrying with him for over twenty years, he finally breaks down to Chuck, apologizing for what transpired and informs him that he loves him and would do anything to have him back. It’s a tragic moment that both men needed to deal with, even supernaturally, and its outcome, while still devastating, gives closure to both men, allowing each of them to finally move forward with a sense of finality.
Simon Steuri directs with discernment and heart, never once allowing his audience to know what’s coming next, keeping them in the dark until the film’s devastating finale, a feat most filmmakers these days cannot achieve. William Kircher’s performance is a major touchstone of the movie, pure and uncluttered, the sight of a father hanging on to a past he cannot change, is heartbreaking. Here, he is a revelation. Cinematographer Irvin Y. Liu captures the essence of Big Bear Lake in California, imbuing both beauty and desolation, the bleakness signifying George’s life for the past twenty years. If you get a chance to see “Lake,” don’t pass it up, it will stay with you long after the final credits roll.
“Lake” is currently doing the Film Festival circuit
