Running time: 95 minutes
Starring: Damian Lewis
Rating 7 out of 10
If you're familiar with dashing British actor Damian Lewis from his many TV roles, then you probably have the impression that he is always typecast as the charming, rogueish sort (see The Forsyte Saga, Band of Brothers and Much Ado About Nothing for examples). His performance in the indie offering Keane comes as something of a shock therefore, since he flexes his acting muscles and turns in a role as compelling and unlikely as Christian Bale in The Machinist, and one that even bears comparison to De Niro's Travis Bickle.
Director Lodge Kerrigan's story is also of note. Having made an impression on the festival scene in the late 90s with the moving Clare Dolan, he showed that he was more than adept at creating damaged characters in uncompromising situations. His skills were rewarded when Steven Soderbergh produced his next effort, the Peter Sarsgaard/Maggie Gyllenhaal starrer In God's Hands, but disaster struck when the negative of the film was severely damaged, and it remains unseen. But Keane reasserts Kerrigan as a unique voice capable of bringing challenging stories to the big screen.
Lewis is the title character, and dominates the story from start to finish. A shifty, obsessive-compulsive drifter, he spends most of his time hanging around subway stations in New York, looking for a young girl who may or may not be his daughter, and who may or may not actually exist. The ambiguity of his personality is never fully resolved, and even when the final reel has finished we're not sure if he is some sort of potential sex attacker or just a sympathetic but disturbed individual. Whatever the case, both Kerrigan and Lewis bring a tremendous amount of sincerity and sympathy to the part.
Following Keane around as he mumbles and stumbles may not sound like everyone's idea of a great night out at the cinema, but those with the patience will be rewarded with a fascinating treatise on the human condition, and in particular the difficulties of connecting in a large metropolis. This is highlighted in a central sequence when Keane befriends an itinerant mother and her daughter in a hostel where despite his overt friendliness, we are never quite sure of his objectives.
If small-scale indie film-making is your thing (and if you enjoyed the recent Christian Bale outing Harsh Times), then Keane is definitely worth a look, and thanks to its striking central performance, it's a memorable and unsettling ride.
Paul Hurley
Director Lodge Kerrigan's story is also of note. Having made an impression on the festival scene in the late 90s with the moving Clare Dolan, he showed that he was more than adept at creating damaged characters in uncompromising situations. His skills were rewarded when Steven Soderbergh produced his next effort, the Peter Sarsgaard/Maggie Gyllenhaal starrer In God's Hands, but disaster struck when the negative of the film was severely damaged, and it remains unseen. But Keane reasserts Kerrigan as a unique voice capable of bringing challenging stories to the big screen.
Lewis is the title character, and dominates the story from start to finish. A shifty, obsessive-compulsive drifter, he spends most of his time hanging around subway stations in New York, looking for a young girl who may or may not be his daughter, and who may or may not actually exist. The ambiguity of his personality is never fully resolved, and even when the final reel has finished we're not sure if he is some sort of potential sex attacker or just a sympathetic but disturbed individual. Whatever the case, both Kerrigan and Lewis bring a tremendous amount of sincerity and sympathy to the part.
Following Keane around as he mumbles and stumbles may not sound like everyone's idea of a great night out at the cinema, but those with the patience will be rewarded with a fascinating treatise on the human condition, and in particular the difficulties of connecting in a large metropolis. This is highlighted in a central sequence when Keane befriends an itinerant mother and her daughter in a hostel where despite his overt friendliness, we are never quite sure of his objectives.
If small-scale indie film-making is your thing (and if you enjoyed the recent Christian Bale outing Harsh Times), then Keane is definitely worth a look, and thanks to its striking central performance, it's a memorable and unsettling ride.
Paul Hurley
