-The face. That face. The camera never seems to leave it. "Keane" begins and we are stuck, with one man, with one face, for what seems like an eternity. It is neither a pleasant situation nor a particularly pleasant man that we are stuck with. He is somewhat distraught at times. He is searching for his lost daughter. In time we will question not only whether she was abducted but also if she even existed.

"Keane" is William Keane and Keane is played by Damian Lewis. This is a brava performance, one that leaves the viewer simply drained and breathless. Lewis traverses the film from center to nether regions constantly dragging filmmaker Lodge Kerrigan, and in essence us, along with him, over peaks, through valleys, across rivers and rugged terrain. We are trapped with him. We are stuck in his world. He is a nice guy. He is a creep. He is sane. He is schizophrenic. He is giving. He is an ass. This is a character as normal as you and I. This is a character with deep flaws.

Lewis and Kerrigan set up William Keane to be consistently in flux and they do so in a very realistic way. We never know what the character is thinking or what he might be capable of. We never know what he is going to do next. This uncertainly keeps the film teetering on the edge and makes it electrifying when Amy Ryan comes on the scene as the 20- something Lynn with her young daughter Kira (played extraordinarily well by Abigail Breslin). Kira is about the age of Keane's missing offspring.

Watching William with Kira is harrowing stuff, especially when the mother asks her seemingly kind-hearted neighbor to watch her daughter overnight. It is nearly impossible not to sit with fingernails in teeth wondering what is going to happen.

The script by Kerrigan is nothing short of masterful. What he does with this character and story is simply amazing. In the hands of lesser talents, this film would be contrived and amateurish (little more than the typical fodder of a Made- for-Lifetime movie). But Kerrigan is simply brilliant here. Where others would resort to flashbacks and contrived meetings with other adults yammering on and on in close-ups and two-shots, Kerrigan keeps his focus tightly on the man, and then, the man, the woman, and the girl. We never flash around in time or see anything resembling the past. And yet, in Kerrigan's script, the present becomes a reflection of the past. The story weaves into the emotions and moments of the past leaving us not so much with a comprehension of the story but an understanding of it. We feel assured and relieved without sentimentality or manipulations.

And then, as quickly and as tightly as it has begun, the film ends.

"Keane" is a masterpiece of modern storytelling and modern filmmaking. Do not miss it.

Notes:

Produced by Steven Soderbergh.

Some sources claim this film was to be entitled "In God's Hands" while others say that is a film directed by Kerrigan that starred Peter Sarsgaard also produced by Soderbergh that was scrapped due to damage to the negatives. Could they both have the same storyline?

Viewed at the Dobie in Austin in November, 2005.

Report Card

Script: A+

Acting: A+

Cinematography\Lighting: A+

Special Effects\Make Up: A+

Music: A+

Final Grade: A+