Sweet little sleeper: LAKE CITY opens this Friday

Sissy Spacek, Rebecca Romijn, Dave Matthews make interesting cast in this offbeat little Southern family/drug drama

I'm behind on my mainstream movie watching of late, having yet to see stuff like Slumdog Millionaire and Milk. But I did catch a cool little film recently that opens this Friday at the Opera Plaza in San Francisco. Lake City is the kind of sleeper that sneaks under the radar at this time of the year when Oscar-bait movies and kiddie flicks like Bolt and Twilight rule the multiplex.

Lake City is the first feature by co-directors Hunter Hill and Perry Moore. It's a Southern drama, combining a decades-old family tragedy with a contemporary bag-full-o'- drugs thriller plot that's not terribly original but goes down easy. The film's most interesting element is a terrific cast, with Sissy Spacek in the above-the-title- role as a Southern mom with some deep-seeded guilt and pain. The always-subtle Spacek is solid in a role not too disimilar from her outstanding work in In The Bedroom a few years back. (She's also great in David Lynch's underappreciated The Straight Story). Really interesting secondary casting as well, including Keith Carradine as a gas station attendant, musician Dave Matthews as a heroin dealer (!) and East Bay native Rebecca Romijn in a completely glamour-free role as a small town sheriff and recovering alcoholic. I chatted with Romijn recently and she mentioned how much fun she had making the film, and working with Spacek, Matthews, and Troy Garity (son of Jane Fonda in real life, son of Sissy Spacek in Lake City).

The film is beautifully photographed and features some cool soundtrack choices, including my fave Lucinda Williams over the opening title credits. In all, a very competent little sleeper, the kind of movie that you come across on cable on watch until the end. That might not sound like a rave, but  it's certainly a thumbs-up.

 Lake City opens December 5 at Landmark’s Opera Plaza, 601 Van Ness, San Francisco (415) 267-4893, www.landmarktheatres.com.

Posted at 07:54 PM in Pete's Popcorn Picks | Permalink