Wake (2004)

Synopsis: Alone in his family’s decaying, long-deserted homestead, Sebastian (Martin Landau), confronts the blank page, a writer struggling to tell a tale. “...Each room, every hallway harbors the same shadows as when my brothers and I were young. And in each and every shadow, the same unchanging... Alone in his family’s decaying, long-deserted homestead, Sebastian (Martin Landau), confronts the blank page, a writer struggling to tell a tale. “...Each room, every hallway harbors the same shadows as when my brothers and I were young. And in each and every shadow, the same unchanging deceptions...” Is what we are experiencing what really happened? Does it exist only in Sebastian’s memory, or is it a fiction? In the film, “WAKE”, the fateful reunion of four brothers quickly dissolves into a night of drinking, deceit, perversions, and death. They don’t realize until it is too late that the party they are having is, in fact, a wake. The writing and directorial debut of Henry LeRoy Finch, “WAKE” is a performance vehicle in the literary spirit of the great American playwrights; O’Neill, Albee, and Shepard. Shot entirely on location in and around Bath, Maine in a house that was originally built in 1745, the film has a visual authenticity that is palpable. “WAKE” presents powerful performances captured with innovative technology. The gifted cast includes: Gale Harold (”Queer as Folk”) as Kyle, Blake Gibbons (“Hollywood Homicide”) as Raymond, Dihlon McManne (“Prospect”) as Sebastian, John Winthrop Philbrick (“Stephen King’s The Langoliers”) as Jack, Rainer Judd (“Reunion”) as Dusty, newcomer Dusty Paik as April, and Oscar-winner Martin Landau (“Crimes and Misdemeanors”), (“Ed Wood”) as Older Sebastian. Nic Harcourt, musical director of National Public Radio station KCRW and host of the internationally acclaimed show “Morning Becomes Eclectic” has brought his invaluable expertise and talent to bear on the project as music supervisor. Chris Anderson has composed the score with Henry LeRoy Finch. Three-time Grammy-nominated sound engineer/record producer Joe DiGiorgi has mixed the film. Included in the film’s varied and moving score are original songs written and performed by up and coming American folksinger/songwriter Ramsay Midwood. “Wake” is written and directed by Henry LeRoy Finch and produced by Susan Landau Finch. Executive producers are Michael C. Donaldson and Margaret Rockwell. Patrick Kelly is the director of photography, Gus Carpenter edited the film, Eric Matheson is the production designer and Szuszana Megyesi served as costume designer. Matthew Clark’s multiple roles as ”artist in residence“ include art director, stills photographer/videographer, titles and graphic designer. wildwell films is committed to commercially viable, maverick projects with “A” level cast and scripts of exceptional literary quality. Through the cultivation of cutting edge concepts, Wildwell Films is dedicated to producing movies with a fiercely independent flair. -- © Wildwell Films [More]