dir. Sol Tryon
writ. Peter Kline & Mike O'Connell
feat. Mike O'Connell, Jesse Eisenberg
The Living Wake, an unreleased comedy, offers a relentless ride hosted by O'Connell as K. Roth Binew, a deceptively improper snob living the last day of his life to the fullest. Binew romps through town (and the gorgeous Maine autumn scenery), certain of his fate (a rare and precise disease to take him) and his final acts, while Mills (Eisenberg), his assistant and pedi-cab chauffeur manages the list and serves alternatively as comic partner and relief. The film cleverly zips through the backstory and leaps into the big day, revealing Binew's character gradually, salaciously transforming him from apparent aristocrat to an author, drunk, crackpot, and talented showman.
While Eisenberg's performance routinely smacks too much of an unnecessary successor to a standard Michael Cera role, it is O'Connell's Binew that grabs the attention and refuses to let up, even when dipping into the forced territory common to works where the lead actor is also the writer. Though the frequent and hearty laughs may falter, the film retains a gripping pace through sheer engagement, racing toward new twists. And as in the best comedies, these turns often surprise and elate, occasionally taking flight.
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