Jeffrey Reiner’s new film “Lake George” serves as a chance for Reiner to showcase his years of critically acclaimed television directing. The film tells a road trip crime story uniquely through a neo-noir lens, which Reiner first experimented with in the 90s with his neo-noir “Blood & Concrete.”

“Lake George” premiered at Austin Film Festival on Sunday. The film tells the story of Don (Shea Whigham), a desperate guy with good intentions, after being released from federal prison. When hired to kill Don’s old crime partner’s girlfriend Phyllis (Carrie Coon), Don instead partners with Phyllis on a money-stealing road trip. All the while, Don longs for Lake George, a vacation spot he visited with his family before being sent to prison. 

The opening scene alone showcases every strength of “Lake George,” with moving acting and a powerful director’s eye. Don, a worry wart, is shown having a panic attack in his dark motel room, breathing in and out and imagining a peaceful Lake George to calm down. The well-executed acting from Whigham paired with the neo-noir-inspired tight and tilted shots from Reiner make the first few minutes consuming. From then on, the dim shots and piano music carry on the dark L.A. crime story. 

Coon as Phyllis delivers a notably powerful, frantic performance as she selfishly schemes her crime spree with Don while seemingly sympathetic to Don’s pure intentions. The two exhibit chemistry through their deep conversations and killings, which may be due to Whigham and Coon’s previous work together in the crime drama “Fargo,” a series Reiner also worked on. 

Beyond the group’s numerous television crossovers, the cast and crew have a variety of Texas ties uniting them. This contributes to this indie film’s flow and the surprise involvement of so many seasoned film professionals. For example, producer and actor Joey Oglesby and Reiner worked on “Friday Night Lights” in Austin and Pflugerville, Whigham attended junior college in Tyler, and cinematographer Tod Campbell is from Austin. 

While its stacked list of talent ensures “Lake George” is technically powerful, its dialogue limits its success. Reiner wrote an interesting story concept, but the dialogue is at times stiff and the attempts at comedy sometimes fall flat. The story also overstays its welcome by the end. With a nearly two-hour run time, the film’s end drags out dialogue between Don, Phyllis and their enemies rather than getting to the point of whether or not Don makes it to finding peace at Lake George after all.

In all, “Lake George” is worth seeing for its unique direction and acting showcase. Despite its shortcomings, it shows promise for Reiner to turn his career further to film successfully if he wishes.

3 sensible gold bars out of 5