FilmSnobReviews

Title: Wakefield
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Robin Swicord
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Jennifer Garner, Jason O’Mara
Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins

What It Is: Howard Wakefield (Cranston) is a successful man of middle age. He has a loving wife in Diana (Garner) and two daughters that love him. Oddly though Howard has a nervous breakdown and begins living in his garage attic. He now lives his life by scavenging through his own trash and water from his own spiget. Now watching his families life pass by Wakefield has to also deal with an existential crises at the same time.

What We Think: The dark comedy is biting and telling in both the way it presents it’s subjects issues and makes no one the bad guy. That’s also kind of the problem. Howard is a bad guy. He leaves his family behind because he can’t deal with life itself. It isn’t as if he leads a terrible life, he doesn’t. So what, perhaps, was the reason for his breakdown? It’s never directly spoken about, sadly though I think it would’ve helped. Cranston is fabulous here and if not for a few scenes in which we flashback this would have been a one man show.

Our Grade: C+, Mediocrity is the word of the day. It’s not good but it is by no means bad. This movie goes as Cranston’s performance does. When Cranston is on here the film shines, when the material let’s him down he tries and tries to pull something out but it just didn’t work. Swicord doesn’t leave a mark on the film, and you could’ve told me anyone directed it and I would’ve believed you. Luckily Cranston is there to make you not care who’s directing and can instead focus on the performance and the story being told by the script. Which, wasn’t that great to begin with.