Living Wake

Virtually every culture in history has a set of formalized rites and ceremonies surrounding the death of one of their numbers. Many anthropologists point to the discovery of ancient burial mounds as one of the earliest social bonds connected primitive hominids to modern day man. Funeral rites have run the gamut from elaborate structures that last for eons to simple affairs, solemn and reflective. While not the most popular theme for movies there have been several that have cropped up now and then. One the latest films endeavoring to take on the tricky topic of shucking off this mortal coil are ‘The Living Wake’. This dark comedy is brilliant in its morbid yet humorous look at one man seeking to leave his life on his own unique terms. It should be fairly obvious that the choice of genres is fairly restricted; black comedy. This is an extremely difficult format to master and one that is not a common choice for newbie writers and directors but when done correctly can be a wonder to watch. There are some flaws to this production but in this particular case they were actually endearing. Independent film is a place where film makes can experiment, branch out in unchartered directions. By the nature of this process mistakes are to be expected and if the film makes have the wisdom to notice such mis-steps can expand the boundaries of cinema. Watching this film I had the sense that it represented an honest attempt with cast and crew to doing their best while trying to provide something different. The reported budget of the film was about half a million dollars, not a sufficient sum of money for the smallest line item on the budget of most studio movies. The point here is not to make a profit although I’m certain all in involved wouldn’t be indignant if such a condition presented itself. These are people who represent the true heart of film making; people in it for the love of their crafts.

The premise for ‘The Living Wake’ comes from the imaginative minds of Mike O'Connell and Peter Kline. Both have a respectable list of previous credits although I doubt if any prior scripts could prepare a writer for something as far afield as this. The concept of an eccentric man preparing his own wake is honestly not something I’ve ever encountered before and I have seen a lot of really off beat flick. It might take a couple of viewings to get the dark place most of the humor comes from but ultimately it is well worth the investment. Relating this quirky story to the screen is director Sol Tryon. Like his writers he has been building his career with shorts and other projects working the production jobs like second unit direction and executive production. Many times in independent films people are anxious to go right into the most visible aspects of the film making process; writer or direction. It is reassuring to see that there are craftsmen like this who appreciates the benefits of taking the time and effort to work their way up in the various aspects of the art of film making. This dedication is well demonstrated by the construction of this film and the potential of its creators.

K. Roth Binew (Mike O'Connell) is what most people would describe as an odd sort of fellow. By his own account and frequent proclamation he is an artist and polymath genius. Rather than idly accepting mundane existence he has constructed a personal mythology to cocoon himself; an isolation from the drabness of reality. This mythos is fully explored in a very creative way; a grainy, vintage style newsreel depicting the life and times of K. Roth Binew. It covers his birth as a baby whose perceptions were fully intact. I guess if you are creating your own personally based mythology you might as well endow yourself with demigod worthy attributes. The thing ids this is not only an imaginative way of introducing the protagonist but there is a fantastic efficiency to the methodology. As one just old enough to remember newsreels in the local movie theater it was a concise way of boiling down the events of the times long before the internet and cable headline news shows. K. Roth his promised a ‘brief but powerful monologue to explain matters by his father the brilliant Lampert Binew (Jim Gaffigan) disappears before fulfilling that promise leaving K. Roth to search for it on his own. His great love as a child was with his Nanny Marla (Diane Kagan), quite into her adult years. He describes this as the greatest love affair never to be consummated. The news reel segment goes on through his life narrating it from the altered perception of K. Roth but hardly a frame is wasted. By the end of this montage the audience is left with a strange sense of knowing, perhaps even understanding this odd man. This portion of the film relishes in the absurd, a great quality for a dark comedy such as this. Among the odd jobs listed for K. Roth were longshoreman, bellboy, mental patient, benevolent dictator to an ant farm and creator of word problems in math text books. It might seem like this section of the movie is over long (it’s less than five minutes) but it is necessary. You cannot appreciate K. Roth’s need for a living wake without appreciating the strange, often bizarre self constructed universe inhabited by this character. The entire film hinges on the audience viewing the humor from inside this vantage point.

K. Roth receives an announcement from a doctor that he is dying from an as yet unnamed vague but grave disease. The one thing known is the disease is terminal and punctual. The bulk of the film revolves around K. Roth and his best friend/minion Mills (Jesse Eisenberg) as the toady drives K. Roth around on a pedicab allowing him to invite guests to his self produced wake. The planned event will have a short poem by the guest of honor followed by his dropping dead on the spot. The film is visually fascinating, a tapestry of seemingly unrelated bits and pieces, random shots indicative of what might be within K. Roth’s mind. Bright, vibrant colors are used just as the prologue concludes giving a sharp demarcation to the new portion of the film and pulling the audience deeper into the life of this man. There is a faux solemn nature to this film that underlies and supports the premise of self importance. While K. Roth may come across as completely crazy we all surround ourselves with a personalized mythology of sorts. K. Roth is just more open and honest with presenting his to the world. We all are headed to this point in life but this movie is able to extract a delicious sense of dark humor out of the topic. This is a film that will stay in your mind long after the closing credits roll by.

Posted 08/11/2010