Road To The Well | Film Review

Have you ever watched a film and twenty minutes in felt like you knew exactly how the rest of the plot was going to unfold? That’s exactly how I felt during the opening moments of Jon Cvack’s “Road to the Well”. Understand that this rarely happens to me. I’m not nearly the detective that my colleagues are when it comes to movies, so at first I was pretty proud of myself for unraveling what I considered to be a twist ending to a story that I’ve seen told on numerous occasions.

It might sound as if I’m being negative on this one, I’m really not. While I may have had called the major points of the story, what I didn’t see coming was some very clever variations on a familiar series of events that unfolds in memorable fashion. Couple that with a surprisingly strong cast and production value, and it makes for an intense character thriller most definitely worthy of some attention.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: a guy is privy to a murder, and despite his actual innocence, the evidence suggests otherwise. He goes to a friend for help who convinces him to head to the wilderness to quietly bury the body instead of contacting the authorities. One lie leads to multiple lies, complications topple each other, and there’s no happy ending. That’s the basic premise of “Road to the Well”, and while my synopsis makes this seem like the “same old, same old”, it’s far from that. Instead, what we’re given is some very believable character development as our main character quietly descends into near-madness over a short period of time. This makes the film’s “lack of other options” finale an acceptable one, especially since it adds one extra element to sweeten the deal.

Laurence Fuller and Micah Parker portray Frank and Jack – the film’s primary characters – in a realistic manner that makes you feel as if you’re witnessing two friends having genuine interactions. Rarely did I feel that either was merely reciting memorized lines, but rather reacting the way that you expect real people would in a similar situation. Parker’s brooding, demanding presence commands respect from his co-star’s character throughout the majority of this work, and Fuller sells his audience as a man with no idea how to handle the situation, yet making his best attempt to do what he believes is right.

While the leads carried the majority of the film, the actors that received far less screen time were a distraction at times. Occasionally, it felt as though they were simply trying too hard and, quite honestly, were outmatched by superior performances. This might be attributed to script issues however, as their scenes were somewhat of a necessary evil to give our main characters enough time to develop in a way that was believable.

“Road to the Well” is a dark story that is echoed with its cinematography and never lets up. With that said, it’s still very crisp, clear, and pleasing to the eye. The shots meant to capture intense emotion linger just long and close enough to keep from straying too far with seamless editing. I look forward to checking out more of Cvack’s work in the future.

I feel as if I might not have done a solid job of selling “Road to the Well”, but that’s only because I’m trying to delicately dance around the details for the sake of the reader. While it had a few extraneous scenes that seem to act as padding to the run time, it’s still a fun ride to see the metamorphosis of our protagonist leading to his inevitable conclusion. This road leads to a trip worth taking.