A Dedicated Student of Film Noir, Jeffrey Reiner Makes a Notable Addition to the Genre With His Debut Feature, ‘Lake George’
Reiner knows that the best film noirs are as rife with comedy as they are with grime. These movies tend toward gallows humor, and so it is with ‘Lake George.’
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How good of a person is Phyllis, one of the two chief protagonists in Jeffrey Reiner’s debut feature, “Lake George”? The notion of goodness nags at Phyllis (Carrie Coons) even as she engages in behavior that most of us would agree is not good.
Her backstory is hinted at: substance abuse, licentiousness, and a fondness for gangsters, particularly the mountainous Armen (Glen Fleshler). They met in rehab, fell in love, and became business partners. Phyllis has a good head for numbers; too bad she and Armen have fallen out.
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