2008 American film
Lake City is a 2008 American drama film directed by Perry Moore and Hunter Hill and starring Sissy Spacek, Troy Garity and Dave Matthews.
Plot
A mother reunites with her son after many years, who had left home as a result of a searing family tragedy.
Production
Lake City was shot in Virginia on a $4 million budget.
Release
Lake City had its world premiere at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival on April 25, 2008,[2] and was released in a single theater on November 21, 2008.[1]
Following the release, Screen Media Films acquired the rights to release the film[3] on DVD.
Reception
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 12% based on reviews from 26 critics, with an average rating of 3.6/10. The site's critics consensus states: "Lake City fails to make use of its accomplished cast, with the story unraveling amid the competing visions of its dual directors".[4] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 29 out of a 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[5]
Bill White of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer wrote: "When Hill and Moore leave story and characters behind to veer off into suspenseless chases through cornfields, one wonders if the era of earnest American drama may be coming to a close".[6]
Josh Rosenblatt of The Austin Chronicle said "The only thing saving Lake City from total ridiculousness is [Sissy] Spacek".[7]
Stephen Holden reviewing for The New York Times had criticized the lead actress, writing "When Sissy Spacek speaks her cliched lines in the mediocre screenplay of [the film], her delivery lends them a resonance that is not in the written words".[8]
According to Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle "With all the high-profile movies blasting into theaters at this time of year, Lake City will probably get lost in the shuffle. That won't be a tragedy".[9]
Robert Koehler of The Christian Science Monitor wrote "The astonishingly inept finish could serve as a primer in screenwriting classes on how not to wind up a family drama".[10]
Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly said that "The story is as impersonal as it is labored",[11] while Michelle Orange of The Village Voice wrote "Add[ing] to the general torpidity and twangy tropes of this Southern family drama is the discomfort of watching a natural actor force it".[12]
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