‘Wakefield’ review [TIFF ’16]

Wakefield review: Bryan Cranston wants some time alone in this story of a New Yorker going through a mid-life crisis in this pleasing, sometimes funny drama from the skilled Robin Swicord.

Wakefield review by Paul Heath, TIFF ’16.

While Wakefield isn’t the best modern drama seen at this year’s TIFF, it’s certainly the strangest. Based on the short story by E.L. Doctorow (and thankfully not the city in West Yorkshire), the film sees Bryan Cranston play the title character of Howard Wakefield, a married man and father of two who suffers from a breakdown when he returns home from his high-powered job following a power cut during his commute in up-state New York one Spring evening.

Rather than facing his wife and children after a particularly tough day at the office, Wakefield retreats to his garage/ out-house where he sits watching over his wife’s reaction to his sudden disappearance. What starts out as just a temporary thing, soon turns into something slightly more permanent as Wakefield awakes the following morning in the same spot. There he remains for hours, which then turn into weeks and ultimately months as he withdraws from life in what seems like a pretty major mid-life crisis.

As I said above, Wakefield is a strange movie, but it’s also a very interesting and truly unique one. Cranston’s constant voice-over and strange exploits guide us through the narrative, but everyone else’s performances are largely seen from afar, their lines nearly inaudible, which I don’t think we’ve seen before. We were discussing the film shortly after seeing it, and we agreed that the film has almost a Hitchcock-ian feel to it as we, like Cranston, have this voyeuristic, intrusive view of thi family’s life as things slowly start to unravel.

Cranston’s performance is brilliant. He has to carry the film largely on his own, and sometimes without dialogue, but he conveys the pain of Wakefield superbly, and we are effortlessly placed into his solitary world and feel a lot of his pain but also laugh along with his comedic and very well performed observations. This is a testament to Cranston, but also to the skilled screenplay and direction from Robin Swicord (who also has another film here at TIFF, Terry George’s The Promise). There’s some great work from the likes of Jennifer Garner as Wakefield’s wife Diana, who does get some screen time with Cranston early on, and Beverly D’Angelo‘s Babs whose role is reduced to almost that of a silent character as most of her scenes are seen from afar from Wakefield’s perspective.

I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed Wakefield. It’s a very unique character study of a tortured, almost masochistic sole, brilliantly played by Cranston, at a very troubling time in his life. One to definitely seek out.

Wakefield review by Paul Heath at the Toronto International Film Festival 2016.

Wakefield is awaiting both a UK and US release date.