Caddo Lake is one of those thrillers that drops clues here and there letting you know exactly where it’s headed. And even when you realize how it got here, you scratch your head and look back and realize things you missed. It’s hard to write a good decent review of the movie without letting too much out.
I will say don’t let the fact that M. Night Shyamalan is credited as one of the producers turn you off. I just watched a video on YouTube about his movie The Sixth Sense and stuff I didn’t even notice 25 years later. Give the man a break when he deserves it.
The movie in set in and around the real Caddo Lake which is located in the northwestern corner of Louisiana on the border with Texas. Elle (Eliza Scanlen) is a teenager who is going through problems with her family that are the basic teenage angst. Elle argues with her mother, Celeste (Lauren Ambrose), mostly because she feels left out. Celeste has been married to Daniel (Eric Lange) for many years and they have a daughter together, Anna (Caroline Falk).
Celeste tells Elle that her real father went missing before she was born. To complicate matters, one day Anna turns up missing and both Daniel and Celeste think Elle may know something. Another story focuses on a young 20-something man, Paris (Dylan O’Brien), grieving the lost of his mother, who died in a car accident when the car she was driving crashed into the lake. His mother drowned and while Paris thinks his mother had a mental condition more than the seizure doctors say affected her driving. Everyone including his father, Ben (Sam Hennings), just wants to let it be.
This has created distance between Paris and Ben as well as Paris and Cee (Diana Hopper), his girlfriend who comes back to visit as they try to rekindle their relationship. Paris works on the lake dredging it as his job. One day he finds a necklace that belongs to his mother stuck in the motor. Paris believes there’s something mysterious about the lake but Cee doesn’t. Paris returns to the lake where he finds Anna wounded and tries to take her to safety.
From here is where the two stories begin to merge together. However, it’s impossible to tell anyone without ruining the twist. I have to say I did find myself noticing certain things in regards to technology. But a movie like this only works if we believe the actors in their roles. The other day, I mentioned how unbelievable the characters in My Old Ass felt. Yet, here, all the characters seem to be lifted from real life.
The strained relationship between Paris and Ben seems authentic. And you get the feeling in Hennings’ delivery of getting rid of his wife’s medical records was his way trying to get over it all. Men like Ben were taught to keep their emotions in, so his attitude is gruff disdain for everything. And Lange plays Daniel like a man who knows no matter what Elle will never really accept her as a father but he has to still maintain some authority.
Being that the people here are called by some as “swamp people,” they have a certain lifestyle but that doesn’t mean they’re to be looked down upon. One of my writing professors, Peter Christopher, who died in 2008, said a twist only works if it’s earned. And he advised his writers to string the reader along with the story. A movie like this written and directed by Celeste Held and Logan George slowly rotates the twist that you hardly realize it before it’s obviously becoming full circle. And by this time, you’re wanting to see how it all fits.
While it might have made sense to release this in theaters, it is streaming exclusively on HBO Max which is good because you can go back and see things you might have missed.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 