Keane

I finally got to see this film last night at LFF in London, and it has been more than worth the wait.

The moments between relative lucidity and mental anguish of William Keane are forcefully explored and successfully displayed by the joint work of Lodge Kerrigan's in-yer-face directing coupled with Damian Lewis' profoundly poignant interpretation of a man clinging precariously on the edge of some kind of sanity and not always succeeding as he knows he should.

I have never encountered such a long period of total and absolute quiet at the end of the film as I did at the end of Keane: the collective breath-holding was incredible.

Chilling, yet strangely warm, this film left me with more questions than answers and an empathy towards the character and the subject of mental illness as a whole than I have ever experienced. It simply has never been something I have concerned myself with. If this is what Lodge Kerrigan set out to achieve, he has more than accomplished it to my mind.

An important film that is a tour-de-force for both Lodge Kerrigan's tight direction and Damian Lewis' craft as an actor.

Go see it if you can. Lobby your local cinema to show it if necessary, but see it.

I saw this movie last year at The Toronto International Filmfestival. Unfortunately in Europe we don't get to see many Indy-movies, but this was a rare opportunity for me to see an excellent one. It's the kind of movie that leaves a lump in your throat after wards! I was constantly wondering if this child that he lost at the bus-terminal was real or just a fragment of his imagination. Also when he takes care of another child while it's mother is gone for a few days, you start wondering if Keane is not going to hurt or kidnap this child! Most of the movie you really feel for this guy. Especially because the camera is so close on him all the time. It feels as if you're actually following him wherever he goes.

This movie looks very real; no special effects no beautiful make-up or costumes. The acting is what acting is all about; you don't see the actor but you see the character! It sometimes feels like your looking at a documentary. Real Oscar stuff! Keane is the kind of movie that touches you, even long after you have left the theater!

Lodge Kerrigan's film 'Keane' offers an emotionally harrowing portrayal of mental breakdown, aided by some unsettled (but apt) camera work and some fine performances from its small cast, including Damian Lewis in the lead role and child actor Abigail Breslin. Fun, it isn't, and the mystery of Keane's grasp on reality is never entirely solved, as the relationship between the real past, and the past as he imagines it, remains unclear. The film not only speaks of mental illness, but more generally, of the loneliness of life lived in public places (motels, bus stations) by those who cannot afford, or hold onto, a private corner of their own. It's disturbing but good.

This is a deeply moving film with an excellent lead performance by Damien Lewis as the mentally disturbed and grief stricken Keane who wanders around the city searching for his missing daughter. From the start it is clear that his daughter went missing sometime ago and the film gathers a feeling of a man who was once sane being tortured by the abduction of his young daughter whilst in his care. The film follows his journey over several days to what appears to be the peak of his grief and pain to possibly the point at which his can begin to get his life back...

I was lucky enough to see this film at the London Film Festival where Lodge Kerrigan and Damien Lewis where present and did a question and answer session after the film ended. The mental disorder issue and the issue of the truth of William Keane's lost daughter were eluded too. Lewis said he believed that the daughter did exist as it gives purpose and integrity to the character allowing a greater feeling for his situation. As writer and director Kerrigan made some comments about the film and why he wrote it saying that there is a lot of miss-understanding of mental disorders especially in the states and not enough sympathy or as much as there could be.

The film feels very real and this is due to the live sets that are used and the whole film being shot with a hand-held camera and all but a couple of scenes using natural lighting. It is real and it touches you, as the credits began to role the cinema remained very quiet as I believe that the vast majority of the audience required sometime to take in what they had just seen. I challenge you to watch this film and feel nothing whether it be for the character of Keane or for the everyman on the street.

Keane is a haunting film about a man suffering from both schizophrenia and the abduction of his 7 year old daughter. The director used long takes and up-close shots so that the audience feels drawn into the mindset of the man. While the movie is very intense, it is not unbelievingly depressing primarily due to Damian Lewis' outstanding performance as Keane. He befriends a single mom and her 7 year old daughter and those scenes manage to convey a mix of sadness, humanity and foreboding as we see Keane struggling with his inner demons. Most Hollywood actors would give a scenery-chewing performance of grief and madness - but Lewis gives a searing, contained portrayal. He shows us this man's humanity, but does not flinch from also exposing his flaws, including drug abuse and physical violence.