From the very beginning The Wake presents a sense of unease; the music and soundscape combine with cinematographer Chris Mably’s alternating bleak, washed out views of the family home and the odd warmth of the woods in which the boys play to make an oppressive and moody world into which the viewer settles.

The film opens on a family-run funeral home in which the funeral director and surly family patriarch Gary Carpenter (Robert Fulton) is preparing a body for the wake of a local teacher. The scene reveals tension between the father and his firstborn, Walter (Isaac Kragten), of whom he does not think highly, and who is skipping the service as he does not like attending when he actually knew the person. Walter takes his younger deaf brother Martin (Zander Colbeck-Bhola) to break into the teacher’s house to steal things to sell because “she can’t use this stuff anymore.” Once they find a gun, it’s only a matter of time before the situation worsens.

Kudos to Mably and editor Adam Schwartz, who work with writer/director/producer Luis Gerard to craft an effective little film that tells its tale at the right pace, setting up the inevitable tragedy with dread-inducing flair. The young performers are effective, and the thematic imagery from opening to final shots is quite good (the boys, for example, must cycle past a cemetery to the final house they attempt to rob, a literalization of a metaphor).

I will be keeping an eye out for Gerard, Mably and company and will be happy to watch any feature length they may put out. The Wake shows a director and cinematographer gifted at telling a tight story visually, but with great attention to detail, character, and imagery. Some folks in Hollywood could learn a lot from this film.

9 out of 10