WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
Responsibility. To some, it is a call, a part of learning to grow up, to face the challenges of leaving the more carefree idiosyncrasies of youth behind, and adopting a more grounded, mature, relevant manner. But for others, it is a curse word, a shackle to be bound by, preventing life from being experienced without the commitment of working, or having relationships with depth, or possibly, it’s simple laziness. For 30-year old Will Baxter (Sam Zvibleman), the definition of life would most certainly be found in the latter. Choosing to believe he might care about the goings on around him, but in actuality prone to just existing in the most non-committal ways, his unreliable, impulsive, and immature attitudes rule him.
Despite the attempts by his girlfriend Erin (Christine Weatherup) to tame him, his proclivity for slacking and alcohol finally ruins their pairing. Without a place to call home, a letter from his younger brother throws another curve ball right between his eyes. Finding that he has inherited their father’s cabin in the Sierras, Will’s first thoughts are to sell and take the money. Travelling to the location on Echo Lake, however, a coalescence of events involving a neighbor Roger (Don Yanan), a dog named Otis, a hike meant to have happened in his childhood, sitting out on the lake in his father’s canoe, and an unexpected friendship made with a pair of campers, Luke (Chris Mollica) and sister Christie (Jillian Leigh), radically alter his entire view on life.
Next, my Mind:
Regardless of experience, taking on one’s very first shot at writing, producing, and directing their first feature film is daunting by any standards, but with “Echo Lake”, Jody McVeigh-Schultz does himself proud on all counts, successfully authoring a character-driven dramedy with finesse and obvious skill. The realistic, albeit irreverent and crude at times, dialogue flows from each character as if watching a reality show–no stumbling, no awkward pauses, just natural straight-forward delivery, a testament to the directing of the cast. Gorgeous cinematography, fluidly leading the viewer from scene to scene, is seamless and the shots at the lake and surrounding areas are breathtakingly beautiful and serene. Add in the perfect musical score from composer Joseph Minadeo, and the circle is complete.
Zvibleman is excellent as Will, giving us a perfect storm of both profane indifference and suddenly awakened realization as he begins to understand that life is much more complicated, but worth investing in with sincerity and vigor rather than watching the sins of his father dictating who he is (or wants?) to become. The emotional realities of everything coming at him in pieces over the course of the film are wonderfully emoted by this talented actor. With equally solid supporting turns by Weatherup as Will’s long-suffering girlfriend, Yanan as an elder voice of reason who pairs Will up with an unforeseen responsibility, plus Mollica and Leigh as the new friends that shine an even bigger light on Will’s apathy.
In total, “Echo Lake” reverberates with the circumstances of life, the weight of choice, the shallowness of dispassion, and the strength of will in choosing the alternative–to change.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
