“The Desperate Hour” (“Lakewood”) is an emotional rollercoaster of a story that can leave you with two schools of thought. School shootings as a backdrop for a movie are unappealing. The thought of watching a film and knowing it will be centered on that particular theme feels a little gross. The Desperate Hour is good enough to make you feel the dread that it intends you to feel. But aside from that, is it worth placing a narrative inside the scope of a situation that might have been better suited to a different scene?
Australia has a commendable record when it comes to school shootings. While there is one infamous case, known as the Port Arthur Massacre, such incidents are incredibly rare in the country. It’s truly devastating to think of the anguish and confusion that families and friends must endure when faced with such tragedies repeatedly, without ever finding answers to the question of why they occurred.
In the film “The Desperate Hours,” there is an attempt to rationalize the inexplicable, yet it ultimately falls short. With Naomi Watts playing the role of Amy, a grieving mother who spends her day reflecting on the passing of her husband, the cast of the movie centers around her character.
Lakewood aka The Desperate Hour
Amy heads out in the morning for a run. Her son was still in bed when she left, and she reasons with him about making his way to school. Her daughter calls to have her attend to some arbitrary task involving a painted dinosaur that she needs for school. Amy’s car is at the mechanics’ and her mother checks in to see how Amy is. With each task, she seems less alone than her initial desire to be. One thing is certain though, and that is that Amy runs a very long way. By the time she gets to her destination, she’s in the middle of nowhere.
Rabbit Proof Fence & ATM by the Writer & Director of The Desperate Hour
“The Desperate Hour” relies on the audience’s ability to assume. Some might call this manipulation. However true that might be, the best films always do and their ability to convince you of one truth before unveiling the actual truth has been a revered talent for many filmmakers. Writer, Chris Sparlings’ ability to capture the first-person view of dread comes with some excellent movies in his wake. Sparling wrote Buried and ATM which both champion a single-location instance of spine-tingling dread. The film’s director, Philip Noyce is also renowned for a film with a similar thread of survivalist mentality. He directed the Australian classic drama, Rabbit Proof Fence. So while The Desperate Hour can and has been described as manipulative, it can also be put down to being a well-composed feature film with strong writing.
For most of The Desperate Hour, there is no one to watch except Watt’s Amy running through the woods. When she receives word her son’s school is on lockdown she does what any mother would do. She begins a frantic and desperate race to get to him. She calls people at the school, she calls the local police and she calls the mechanic who happens to be close to the school and the chaos that erupts. What the narrative does well is in capturing the futility of being in the middle of a situation where there is nothing you can do. On the flip side, everything that happens is heavy on the movie tropes and completely predictable.
Performances Are Excellent
It seems like Amy’s adventure in “The Desperate Hour” is full of unexpected mishaps. From falling over to losing her phone signal and dealing with a failing phone battery, Amy finds herself in quite precarious situations. While the pacing and climatic finale of the story was enjoyable, there is one aspect that didn’t sit well with me – the super sleuth angle. It’s sometimes hard to believe that the main character is able to take on the role of lead investigator while the detectives seem passive. Additionally, Amy’s tactical maneuvers push the boundaries of believability. Nonetheless, “The Desperate Hour” offers an intriguing and action-packed narrative.
The film titled “Lakewood” has a captivating aesthetic that is hard to deny. Despite poor ratings from critics who saw the movie at various film festivals under its original title, I found myself particularly drawn to Naomi Watts’s performance. She skillfully hit all the right notes, making it possible for the film to build up to a conclusion where emotions run high. As a viewer, I was deeply invested in the thrilling storyline that “Lakewood” presented.
The Desperate Hour aka Lakewood is rated
4 carefully placed rocks in the forest out of 5
Release Details for The Desperate Hour
- The Desperate Hour was released on the 25th of February 2022 to digital and in theatres. Mother of Movies acquired the film as a screener for review purposes.
- The cast for The Desperate Hour includes Naomi Watts, Colton Gobbo, and Sierra Maltby.
- All images are courtesy of Vertical Entertainment and Roadside Attractions
