The Last Movie I Saw

I can't imagine a movie that looks less like a big summer blockbuster than The Merry Gentleman. Yet, I certainly enjoyed it more than any big bucks action or over-hyped comedy that represent the standard summer fare. The first film directed by Michael Keaton (who also stars along with Kelly Macdonald) is a rather low-key story that confounds expectations at almost every turn. On the one hand, it seems to fit with other recent offbeat movies with professional hit-men in the center of the plot (like Grosse Pointe Blank or You Kill Me), though ultimately it doesn't have that much in common with them (for one thing, this isn't a comedy). The primary focus is on Macdonald's character, who seems cursed to always have the faith she places in others betrayed, and as a consequence becomes pretty gunshy about extending much trust at all. At the same time, her seemingly unforced goodness has an impact on others, and makes them want to be better people if only to ingratiate themselves (and not necessarily in any kind of exploitive way) with her. It's a circular conundrum that suggests either a happy ending where at least one of her "friends" is redeemed by exposure to Macdonald's core goodness, or one where she gives in to bitter cynicism or despair. I think it's a credit to the filmmakers (Keaton and writer Rick Lazzeretti) that they don't really pick one of those options. It's not a great film, but a small, literate and visually engaging piece of work that offers some proof that Keaton may have a future behind the camera. If it ends up being the only film he ever directs, it won't quite match the classic status of Charles Laughton's Night of the Hunter (Laughton's only directorial effort), but I think it would make a very short list of good movies directed by moonlighting actors. The opening sequence alone, in which all we need to know about the backstories to the characters played by Macdonald and Keaton play out entirely without dialogue is evidence of that.