Wakefield

R

Released May 19, 2017

1 hr. 49 min.

Drama

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List

75%

67 Reviews

Tomatometer

53%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Howard Wakefield, a New York City lawyer, hides out in the attic of his home for weeks, coming out in the daytime when his family is gone to shower and eat. His withdrawal leads him to examine his life, and he rationalizes that he has not abandoned his family because he is still in the house. When a former boyfriend re-enters his wife's life, he realizes that he may not be able to return to life he has abandoned.

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Critics Consensus

Thanks to a committed, powerhouse performance by Bryan Cranston, Wakefield is a fascinating character study of a decidedly unpleasant character.

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Ryan R

Slow building but well worth the watch.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/05/24

Full Review

Just S

Can't imagine any other actor pulling a role this big. Meaningful and thoughtful, the movie runs through it all. Especially liked the slowness of the movie, it drags you into his life, how slow and lonely it is. It makes you feel it all, and with such great ambient music, you do. Also liked the idea with the ending of the movie, how every viewer will have his/hers own ending. Truly a masterpiece.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/08/24

Full Review

Diego H

Aburrida perdi 1:40:00 horas viéndola

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/06/24

Full Review

Mildred M

I enjoyed the dynamic experience of the characters. Cranston is well worth the watch! I've seen this four times already. Only wish there was insight to how things went beyond the ending.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/12/23

Full Review

Anna R

Wakefield An abusive man manipulates two people and destiny to get a woman to fall in love with him. They are married and expecting before he realizes that happiness comes from within, and that he is an empty shell of a man. One day, he justifies a non-traditional abandonment of his wife and two daughters, claiming to be abandoning himself (and life), instead. It has a snowball effect, going from hours to days then weeks, with no reasonable way for him to return home. He watches the suffering of his wife, from a separate building on their property, every day, entertained. He gets a disturbing satisfaction from this, while rationalizing the cruelty of the circumstances. By disappearing without a trace, she is not able to move on, and left without closure. It wouldn't be socially acceptable for her to move on, especially with a new partner. This is his way of leaving her while keeping her under his control. When she turns down the sleazy advances of another man, and several other occasions, he takes pride in how his actions have created (and kept) a sense of ownership over her. He watches her sadness, with pleasure and criticism, because it's not enough unless she entirely falls apart as a mother, distraught over the fate of her husband. He is endlessly critical of how she copes, delighting in times when she has to struggle to do the job of both parents, feeling somehow vindicated by watching her take out the trash. He watches her struggle financially, to feed their daughters, while criticizing her decision to give them a sense of normalcy, by still taking them on an annual vacation. He scoffs that she might be going into their savings, later learning it is being financed by his (despised) mother in law. In perfect character, the moment he gets closest to choosing to return home, is as selfish as the petty as the reason he went missing to begin with. He doesn't want to be exposed for the deception he began their relationship with, or risk her actually finding happiness, apart from the ungrateful man she was conned into being with. This isn't a spoiler, either. You'll see it coming a mile away. The only thing missing from the ending is a restraining order, although it leaves enough of an open door for you to imagine a happily ever after for her. Everything else in the story, seems like the babbling justifications of an abuser about the abuse he is perpetrating, as if you're in his head with him. Not deep or thought-provoking. Yes, we've all had the urge to just "run away from life", but don't, because of those it would hurt. I agree with many others, that the same could've been accomplished in an hour, or as a short film. It gets to the point that you're just waiting for him to return home, where the film soon ends, unremarkably. Minus a star for that. Minus another star for the fact that I don't think the story was intended to portray an abusive relationship, when it is clearly one. Apparently, the viewer was supposed to find connection with, or sympathy for, this man. That part is probably more disturbing than the film, itself.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/26/23

Full Review

Danny L

Prompted to review and comment because this movie is definitely underrated. Grow some tantalizing patience, people — this is one of those contemplative slow burns that makes a simple sick day with chicken noodle soup quietly revelatory.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

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Robin Swicord

Director

Bryan Cranston

Howard Wakefield

Jennifer Garner

Diana Wakefield

Jason O'Mara

Dirk Morrison

Beverly D'Angelo

Babs

Ian Anthony Dale

Ben Jacobs

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Wakefield: Trailer 1

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Michael Sragow

Film Comment Magazine

Swicord's movie is about the angst of a rigorously constructed and airtight suburban life...she arrives at an intricate mosaic style that accommodates both eloquent portraiture and deft tableaux.

Jul 11, 2017

Full Review

Ben Sachs

Chicago Reader

Uneventful and dull to look at, the film adapts a short story by E.L. Doctorow that probably should have stayed on the page.

Jun 22, 2017

Full Review

David Sims

The Atlantic

It isn't the dull midlife crisis movie it initially presents itself as. But it also doesn't do enough to lurch into more nightmarish territory.

Jun 9, 2017

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Cranston is excellent in the central role, with Garner (who deserves a more vibrant career) offering solid support.

Rated: 3/4

Nov 1, 2021

Full Review

Leslie Combemale

Cinema Siren

The real reason so see Wakefield is the tour-de-force performance Bryan Cranston brings to it.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 18, 2019

Full Review

Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

While this monotonous one-man show may be a testament to Cranston's talents, the film becomes a tedious exercise.

Rated: 2.5/5

Oct 10, 2019

Full Review

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Synopsis

Howard Wakefield, a New York City lawyer, hides out in the attic of his home for weeks, coming out in the daytime when his family is gone to shower and eat. His withdrawal leads him to examine his life, and he rationalizes that he has not abandoned his family because he is still in the house. When a former boyfriend re-enters his wife's life, he realizes that he may not be able to return to life he has abandoned.

Director: Robin Swicord
Executive Producer: Luigi Caiola, Gayle Gardner, Joel Gardner, Alex Guez, Rob Hinderliter, Kevin Lamb, Dominick LaRuffa Jr., Maria J. McDonald, Ruth Mutch, Stephanie Pinola, Brandon Powers, Bobby Sain, Iris Smith
Screenwriter: Robin Swicord
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: Mockingbird Pictures, Dominion Pictures Corporation
Rating: R (Some Sexual Material|Language)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 19, 2017, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 25, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $259.4K

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