I was disappointed to not have attended the Virginia Film Festival last year, specifically because it meant I missed the screening of Wakefield, the latest drama to star Bryan Cranston. Cranston's played some strange characters with unique perspectives on life, but never has he played someone who had it so good yet walked away from it all. That is until now.
Wakefield is directed by Robin Swicord and is base on E.L. Doctorow’s 2008 short story about Howard Wakefield, a man with a loving wife (Jennifer Garner) and two daughters, a comfortable suburban home, and a big money job as a Manhattan lawyer. While his life seems perfect on the outside, inside something is eating him up inside. So one day he decides to just up and vanish, hiding in the attic and watching his family from afar.
If you don't know Swicord, she's been involved in numerous high-profile adaptations. She co-wrote The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and directed The Jane Austen Book Club. She co-wrote the screenplay for Terry George's The Promise, which hits theaters this weekend.
Also starring Beverly D'Angelo and Jason O'Mara, Wakefield opens May 19th.
