SXSW Review: Wake

Among the world premieres at SXSW 2010 is Texas native Chad Feehan's feature writing/directing debut, Wake, which screened at the Paramount this afternoon. Wake is a twisty thriller featuring The Bone Collector's Josh Stewart and Soprano's Jamie-Lynn Sigler as a couple on the way to a wedding when they decide to stop for the night in a roadside motel. Instead of a restful night's sleep, strange encounters force them to deal with a haunting secret from the past, including a overly helpful and creepy hotel clerk. 

Very slowly two apparently unrelated storylines evolve that eventually collide with devastating results.  While atmospherically shot, Wake suffers from simultaneously trying to be too clever and making sure all the pieces are tightly assembled.  One of the more frustrating aspects of catching films at festivals is finding ones with an intriguing concept that doesn't quite work as delivered to the screen. 

In the case of Wake, it's overworked.  With a running time of 105 minutes, at least 15 could be shaved to make a tighter story with fewer seams.  The third act has so many potential final shots, the actual (solid) ending was diminished. Several illogical story choices and some elements introduced early on not reconciled with the third act distance the audience, resulting in a merely okay film instead of a great one. 

Still, there is a lot of promise in Wake. Clearly Feehan is writing outside the box, and future projects are likely to hone his skills. While the script had issues, Feehan clearly paid attention to some physical details that easily could have been overlooked.

Feehan started making a name for himself with producing All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, a horror tale that made a splash at the Toronto Film Festival, and was quickly picked up by Weinstein Company but has never made it to theaters. Hopefully that won't happen with Wake, which may be flawed, but certainly worthy of attention.