Keep Your Distance

Was very impressed with this indie film that looked and felt like such a "big budget" effort. Gil Bellows is fabulous as the lead. He plays a man with a charmed life whose world gets rocked by an anonymous interloper. The veneer cracks for several of the leading characters, who seem to lead charmed lives as well. The beautiful socialite wife. The trust fund baby and his powerful father. The plot is clever. A mystery meticulously crafted to keep you engaged to the end. Loved the music, too. Bravo to Stu Pollard's second big film effort. I liked "Nice Guys Sleep Alone" but "Keep Your Distance" catapults Pollard into a different league for film-making.

Although I still think that Pollard's first movie (Nice Guys Sleep Alone) takes the cake in my book, Keep Your Distance was a thrilling mystery, that will keep anyone who likes trying to crack codes and solve mysteries on their toes. Pollard did a great job of integrating the city of Louisville (from the well-known skyscrapers seen in the skyline to the best ice cream place in town) into his movie - anyone who loves Louisville should definitely see this movie. Acting was well done, cinematography was visibly improved from Nice Guys, and, all in all, it's definitely a film worth seeing. The unexpected twists in the story kept coming, and the way the film unraveled itself towards the end made everything come together comprehensively.

Keep Your Distance is about a talk show host (David) and a drug saleswoman (Melody) who get caught up in several scandals, including their own. Melody has a possessive and rich boy friend who gives everyone the willies. David gets letters that show him things about his life and he confides in Melody who he meets by chance, and they help each other through some tough times as friends. As things start to pan out some clues start to give away the twists that occur at the end. A class A film technically with lots of good scenes. Acting was very good and the characters where believable. In the end, the letters spell out a lame plot as the characters have to explain it all to the audience.

I am a slight fan of Christian Kane's, I saw him from the TV show Angel, so when I was looking for a movie, I noticed him on the cover and even though I wasn't familular with the actors, also I wasn't sure about the story, but I figured I should give it a shot. So I went ahead and rented it and just watched it tonite and over all, I'd say that it was a good attempt for a thriller, but it was pretty average.

Basically this radio host, David, has caught his wife cheating with another woman. Melody has just turned her boyfriend's, Sean, proposal down in public, but when Melody runs out to skip humiliation, she gets hit by a car and David helps her, so when he finds out about his wife, he drinks and gets thrown in jail, and to return the favor, Melody bails him out and they develop a friendship discovering that there might be people out to hurt them.

Keep Your Distance like I said was an average thriller that could've been better, but from what I'm reading, the director is still pretty new at movies, so I'm going to give him a chance, because this wasn't a bad movie at all. So if you come across it, you might want to check it out, you never know, you may love it or you may hate it, but just give it a shot.

5/10

This film was a very pleasant surprise. I must say that I went in expecting much less than I got. It's quick-paced and fairly short, so it barely feels like you've spent any time in the theater at all. Nice, quick little thrill ride. And, the ending! Wow. Who would've ever guessed that... Well, you should definitely see it for yourself. It's wonderful how you walk away from this one rethinking how much you trust everyone! Friends, family, coworkers, everyday acquaintances. You may never look at your loved ones the same way again. I was up at the RIIFF in Providence and happened to catch this there. The acting, the music, the cinematography, the fitting bits of humor - all near perfect. I highly recommend checking it out if you have the chance. If nothing else, hopefully the DVD will be along soon enough!