Keane

In Keane, director Lodge Kerrigan shows us a world we often try to avoid, the world of poverty and mental illness. Damian Lewis is riveting as the title character. Keane is a man who is struggling to be normal in spite of his illness, isolation and the loss of his child. We see Keane's life with all it's ugly and often self-destructive details that include drug use, violence, and anonymous sex. But somehow Kerrigan and Lewis make us pity Keane. The scenes that show interaction between Keene and the young girl he befriends are both terrifying and touching. The film is intense, exciting, scary and brilliant. This is an important movie and both Lodge Kerrigan and Damian Lewis deserve recognition for creating this incredible movie.

"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.

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.

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.