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.

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.

Disturbed William Keane (Damian Lewis) is frantically searching the bus terminal in NYC. He's broke and barely able to pay for his room. He befriends neighbor Lynn Bedik (Amy Ryan) and her daughter Kira (Abigail Breslin). He does drugs with Michelle (Tina Holmes). He's looking for his daughter but it's questionable whether it's real or all in his mind.

Damian Lewis does a brilliant job as a mentally disturbed man. I love the scene in the bar as he tries to listen to the music. More visual cinematic moves can be done to create his mental illness. He needs to have hallucinations of his daughter and she needs to be on screen. It's also a bit slow at times. Otherwise, this is a great character movie.

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 searing portrayal of mental illness. Dominated by an intense tour de force performance by Damian Lewis of the titular character on screen in close-ups for the entire film, writer/director Lodge H. Kerrigan throws us into "Keane"s disturbed mind set from the get go, as we have to continually judge for ourselves what is his grip on reality.

His struggles with what may or may not be paranoid schizophrenia or a breakdown triggered by guilt are conveyed Dogme style, with no "A Beautiful Mind" tricks. Through his mutterings and movements we see the world from his tormented perspective as he painfully re-lives what is either a trauma or a delusion, and ache with him as he self-medicates with booze and drugs. We alarmingly get to understand his mind even as we fear for his safety and others around him, particularly each time he drinks a beer.

Lewis uses his leading man good looks, even disheveled, to show how manipulative and disarming a person with a fractured mind can be. We can viscerally feel his efforts to control his thoughts and behave responsibly when the stakes are very high. He uncannily captures the look of disturbed men seen unfortunately frequently on the streets of New York (I was punched by one once after he stared at me fixedly in a store) and who are brought to public attention openly after a subway platform pushing or inexplicable knife attack.

The ambient sound design brilliantly captures "Keane"s highly stimulated perceptions and keeps us at the edge of our seats in agony as to what sound or sight could set him off. The ambient song selections are beautifully selected to heighten his emotions, including the 4 Tops' "I Can't Help Myself."

The people who briefly interact with "Keane" are excellent character actors who create whole, almost as damaged individuals with just a few lines, particularly Tina Holmes as a coke head and Amy Ryan as a single mom with significant problems. Abigail Breslin is one of the sweetest children on screen in a long time and her projection of trustingness adds to the poignancy of her scenes with Lewis that have the audience holding their collective breaths for their unpredictability.

The film makes excellent use of realistic locations in New York and New Jersey with a gritty, very urban-sensitive cinematography.

The credits include thanks to Fountain House and Project Return which work to help the mentally ill fit into society. I wish more hopeful information on what is being done were added.

"Keane" is a profound example of the moving simplicity of the storyteller's art revealed by brilliant acting through characters that portray the human spirit.