Keane

There is a natural compulsion for a father to protect his daughter. Mine is over twenty one but I still worry about her and would do anything to ensure her safety. Any father would be driven over the edge by the disappearance of their daughter. William Keane (Damian Lewis) is a man caught in any man’s nightmare; his six year old daughter is missing. He returns to the last place his daughter was seen, the Port Authority of New York City. Amidst this large, crowded, bustling location Keane frantically searches, stopping people on their way to and fro desperate to find some clue to his daughter’s whereabouts. Keane is a man that has gone beyond the verge of madness, over the line to the point of a complete dissolution of his mental state. The audience is not sure just how long this search has been a part of Keane’s life. It has no become a total substitution for a normal routine. Aside from his frantic search Keane’s existence has degraded into depression, alcohol and drug abuse and mindless sex with prostitutes and anonymous women. When the need for sleep overcomes him he retreats to a lonely, dilapidated flop house. It is there that he meets Lynn Bedik (Amy Ryan) and her 7-year-old daughter, Kira (Abigail Breslin). Lynn’s husband has abandoned them leaving mother and daughter to fend for themselves. Out of work and hopeless Lynn reluctantly agrees to accept money from Keane’s disability checks. Although Keane is a paranoid schizophrenic he can come across as a likeable sort of guy while in one of his calmer states of mind. When Lynn is unable to pick Kira up at school she asks Keane if he would agree to do so. He agrees and everything seems normal on the surface. He meets her at school, takes her for a snack at McDonalds and then ice skating. After getting a lead that her absent husband is working in upstate New York Lynn decides to search for him and, now trusting Keane, requests that he watch her over night. The two aspects of Keane are forced to clash, the frantic man on an endless quest and the long submerged paternal protector. The audience is left to wonder if his association with Kira will finally push him over the edge or afford him the touchstone to reality that can help save him.

I have seen dozens of psychological thrillers but few have come across as compelling as this one. It is a dark and disturbing look inside a very tortured mind. We are not even certain as we watch if Keane ever had a daughter. Is she a figment of his twisted mind or did he actual lose the daughter he loves? There is a potential for this man to become a monster, an unpredictable man not bound by any social convention. As we watch him with the innocent young Kira the dread does not come from any overt act that would be too mundane. Instead the audience is left with an uneasy feeling, that non-specific dead that the child is soon to be in danger. The film offers up a modern, urban nightmare that grabs the audience in the gut. As the film unfolds we are caught up not only with the plight of Keane but also that of Lynn and her daughter. These are people that are lost, discarded by others, left to their obsessions. Keane may suffer from bi-polar disorder but this is not portrayed as a pathological condition. Instead it is just what this man faces on a daily basis. There is desperation here, both with Keane and Lynn but circumstances provide a need to reach out beyond themselves to try to trust each other.

This is the type of film that would not work with the usual studio A-list stars. For it to be as successful as it is depends on a cast that the audience can accept as regular people like those we pass on the street each day. Damian Lewis has been in enough projects that some may recognize him but he is perfect as the lamentable Keane. He offers us a characterization of a man in turmoil. Lewis imbibes pathos into Keane that reaches off the screen. He acts with every aspect of his being. His face emits more emotion than most actors can provide with lines of dialog. Lewis is able to switch between the different emotional states of his characters in a moment. One minute he can be the kind of person you would cross the street to avoid, the next a kind man that you can believe a mother would leave her daughter with. Amy Ryan most likely will seem familiar to many watching this film. She has been a constantly working actress on television, appearing on many popular shows including all three of the Law & Order franchise. She also is an award winning Broadway actress, obviously a young woman of considerable talent. Here is at the top of her game. She presents Lynn as a woman caught by circumstances beyond her control, perhaps beyond her full understanding. Left to raise a seven year old daughter on her own she is at the point of despair, brought to trusting a man she hardly knows. As we watch her leave Kira with Keane part of us yells internally at the folly of this decision. Due to Ryan’s ability to present a fully developed character part of us understands why she does it. Abigail Breslin has a command of her craft far beyond her tender young years. She portrays a shy girl that reaches out for a father figure. She never plays Kira as a victim of her circumstances, merely as a girl that has never really known any better life. All round the performances here are far above the usual.

Writer/director Lodge H. Kerrigan is no stranger to presenting the story of a schizophrenic. His acclaimed previous film, ‘Clean, Shaven’ was nominated by both the Sundance and Independent Film festivals. His style here is stark and minimalist, just perfect for the story. His hand held camera often focuses tightly on the face of Keane, telling the story through his expression and images of his surroundings. Kerrigan pulls the audience into not only the confused mind of Keane but also provides a glimmer of hope. While Keane may begin to confuse Kira with is own daughter, real or imagined, we get a chance to see just what turmoil this man faces. The suspense comes from the potential of danger, something a lot more difficult to achieve than the usual overt acts of violence so many films fall back on. The gritty video has washed out colors, perfectly reflecting the loss of Keane’s normal life. For Keane there are no bright colors to the world and the audience is shown this is detail.

Magnolia Home Entertainment has been providing films that many are not aware of for some time now. As a person that loves movies I for one am extremely grateful for their devotion to these film festival marvels. Everyone knows about the major studio block busters but for the true film buff a film like this is a rare find. The anamorphic 1.78:1 video is clear and free of defects. The color palette as noted before is washed out but presented here true to the director’s vision for the film. The Dolby 5.1 audio is subtle, using the rear speakers to provide a realistic ambience. The extra provide is great, a special cut of the film by producer Steven Soderbergh. For those watching with an eye to the more technical aspects of film this affords an excellent opportunity to see first hand how the same film can be affected by the man behind the camera. This is a thriller that works in the mind on a visceral level. When you tire of the same old Hollywood thrillers pop this in your DVD and enjoy something of true quality.

Posted 3/15/06