The Living Wake

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09/18/2021 This is my favorite movie of all time. I named my dog Binew because of this masterpiece. See more 05/17/2020 A self absorbed artist genius lives his last day as he wants, putting his best foot foward... See more 03/16/2017 One of the best characters in recent film. The charmingly narcissistic lead exercises a plethora of ridiculous nuances with such ballistic conviction-a bulldozer of eccentric emotion. See more 07/18/2013 Quirky, a bit too quirky maybe, but not for me. See more 01/07/2013 There are defiantly some acting awards to be one from this film. See more 11/19/2012 An eccentric with a mysterious, fatal illness spends the last day of his life searching for his father who will deliver a "brief but powerful monologue" about life's purpose. Half of this film begs us to take it seriously, as though it has something profound and original to say about life and death, and the other half avoids any serious consideration in favor of broad and over-the-top comedy. The result is a mixed bag that falls short in both goals. The film's energy comes from the lead performance by Mike O'Connell; the set must not have had craft service because he chews the scenery like a starving orphan. The character K. Roth Binew is written to be larger than life, but O'Connell makes him even larger. I found myself wishing that Binew could have been played by Albert Finney, channeling his <i>Big Fish</I> character. Jesse Eisenberg is wonderful as Binew's eternally faithful and loyal assistant, a thankless character that Eisenberg mines for gold. Overall, despite O'Connell's over-the-top performance, there are a lot of little parts, moments of philosophical truth, that make this film worth watching even if the whole is inconsistent and flawed. See more Read all reviews

The Living Wake

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